Every Form of Darkness
by KFlynn934
Summary: While reading in a bookstore, Katherine falls into the world of Twilight and soon she is more entwined in th story than she had ever imagined. Will she be able to help everyone keep their happy ending or will she ruin everything?
1. Twilight

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking dawn were four of my favorite books back then. I had always believed that magic had existed once upon a time and there was just something that appealed to me about pretending that vampires and werewolves existed as well. I'd always believed that myths had a basis in truth. I had chosen my favorite characters of course, just like everyone and I used to bore my parents with my endless babbling about them.

I haven't talked to my family in a long time. I hope someday I'll be able to get back to them for just a minute, I hope they forgive me for leaving and know it was involuntary, like slipping into sleep, into a dream world. In fact that's what I'd thought at first, that I was lying in a bed somewhere, unconscious. Or that my world slipped away, leaving me alone until I slipped in here.

Maybe I'll never know. Maybe I'll be here forever. In this world this story, this darkness that is not my own.

I'd always considered myself to be average. Dark brown hair, blue eyes, normal features, the only thing that made me stand out from the crowd was my short stature, something I both loved and hated about myself. At nineteen, everyone wants to be just a little special and I was no different. If my height was the thing that helped me be special then I would take whatever I got. I inspected my reflection in the window of the Chapters bookstore before moving off to find Twilight. It was true that I hadn't bought it yet, though I'd read it many times. I'd just…never gotten around to it.

I spotted the red apple on the cover and grabbed it eagerly off the shelf. My parents wouldn't be back for another hour, might as well kill some time reading.

I sat down on a window ledge nearby and opened the book, turning to the meadow scene.

Everything turned upside down, or maybe I did. The cheerful colours of the bookstore's interior were blurring no matter how fiercely I blinked my eyes. Then it was like a cloth had been thrown over my face. I couldn't see, and my words were drowned out by the sudden and overwhelming silence. All I could feel was the book in my hands; the pages, the cover, the smoothness of the binding. I clutched it in my hands so hard that vibrations trembled up my arms.

It was all I knew.

There was something, in the distance, a lightening, a tiny pinprick. A star? It grew larger and larger, soon I could see that it was blue, a bright hue that made my eyes water after the darkness. Then the darkness disappeared completely and the blue was all I saw with strange white shapes. After staring upwards, disoriented, I realized that I was looking at clouds and the sky. I was lying down; the ground was hard and moist against my back. I sat up dizzily. Where _was_ I? Had I fallen asleep?

I was in a small clearing, dark and formidable trees surrounding me on all sides. The sky was the only point of light. It was utterly unfamiliar. Bewildered, I looked down at the book in my hands. The red apple glinted redly up at me.

"Hello?" I croaked, relieved that I could hear my own voice again. I pushed myself to my feet and circled slowly. If this was a dream, what should I be doing? I tucked the book under my shoulder and took a few hesitant steps. I was unsure of my footing, and my legs were half asleep. The crack of a branch made me whirl around and lose my balance, falling on the ground again hard. I looked through the trees, motionless, listening hard. Another crack echoed and I flinched. What was out there?

A tall-ish brunette stumbled into the clearing, a pale white hand shooting out to catch her.

"There's someone in there." A low male voice muttered.

"What?" the girl whipped her head around, eyes wide. She spotted me half-lying on the grass. "Oh!"

"Bella, I'm going to step in front of you, okay? I'll be in the sun, don't be startled."

An amazingly perfect boy stepped slowly into the sun, standing protectively in front of the girl. And his white skin did something that made me gasp in shock.

It _sparkled._

"You! I-but-you!" I stammered, pointing a shaking finger, my eyes flicking over his bronze hair, golden eyes and impossibly pale skin.

"Who are you? This land belongs to Carlisle Cullen, you're trespassing." He reprimanded.

Carlisle? This could _not_ be happening. He was glaring at me ferociously now so I cleared my throat hastily.

"My name is Katherine."

"You must leave."

I stood up, still holding the book. "I wish I could, believe me. I don't even know what is happening. Look, I know it's crazy but I know who you are, I know who your family is. Because of this book." I held it up. "You aren't _real_, you can't be." Every one of my words sounded crazier than the last.

"You know my family, do you?" he growled, slipping into a half crouch.

I started shaking even more. Why was he acting like this? I was a human; he shouldn't look like he was going to tear me into shreds any second. I had to do something.

"You're Edward Cullen, a vampire. You were changed by Carlisle, whose wife is Esme, and you have 2 brothers and two sisters, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie and Alice. You're not _really_ related, but…" my words faltered and died under his incredulous stare.

"How do you know that?"

Bella's eyes were wide, peeping over Edward's shoulder.

"This book, I _told_ you. I think I-fell into it or something. I'm not from this world." I whispered, still holding it up. "Please believe me."

He continued to glare, suspicion marring his features. I didn't blame him.

"Bella, I need to take her to Carlisle, he'll know what to do. Will you come with me?" his hostile gaze softened when he looked over his shoulder. She nodded and Edward grabbed her up in one arm, whispering in her ear that he would need to go fast, vampire fast, something she hadn't experienced yet.

He appeared next to me in half a second and lifted me roughly in his other arm. He felt cold, colder than I'd imagined, and hard and smooth as stone. It was a strange feeling and not one I was sure I liked.

"Close your eyes" I told Bella, who looked terrified. With slight hesitation, she did, as did I and soon I could feel the air whooshing past. My eyes squeezed tightly shut, my lips pressed together, but I remained calm. Because I believed I was dreaming. Or insane.

The wind abruptly stopped and I was dropped so that I stumbled and almost fell over.

A huge white mansion stood sturdily in front of me. No sign of life inside, but that was to be expected for a house full of vampires.

Then the door swung open.

A tiny dark haired girl danced out, my height but much thinner.

"Alice." I breathed. Her eyes flickered to me for a moment in confusion, but then looked to Bella.

"Hi Bella. Is this one of your friends?" she asked brightly.

"Drop the act Alice, she knows everything."

"Fine. Your whole future disappeared about two minutes ago." She informed him. "It's never happened before."

He looked back in shock.

"I think I know why." I volunteered.

Alice looked at me. "Who _is_ she?"

"I have no idea. She knows who we are. I brought her home so we could figure out what to do." Edward answered.

"Then we'd better get Carlisle."

After repeating my story, jumbled and confused as it was, I was left in a room with Emmett as my guard while Bella was led away by Edward.

I stared at my hand and then rubbed my forehead. I had a monster headache so that ruled out the dream theory. Weren't you not supposed to feel pain in dreams? I was currently going with a new theory: that I was in a coma. Because there was _no way_ that this was real.

Carlisle's study door opened and I sprang to my feet. He emerged, the rest of his family following. Edward went straight to Bella.

"Katherine." Carlisle stated. "We…have decided to keep watch over you while we debate what the next step should be. We have examined the part of the book you showed us and obviously, we've also decided that it's unsafe for you to leave. You're to stay with us; it's the safest option…for everyone."

Yeah, it was _safe_ for me to stay in a house full of made-up vampires, huh? It suddenly occurred to me that I could have been kidnapped by a group of people who pretended to be the Cullens. People who lived in such a big delusion could be very very dangerous. They left me to sleep in one of the bedrooms for the night and I was sure that someone would be posted outside both the door and the window in case I tried to leave. I pulled the blankets off of the bed and curled up in a corner, cat-like. I stayed awake all night.


	2. Experiments and Explanations

Weeks passed and we though we tried, we never really found a reason for why I was here. I began to accept that these people were actually the vampires I had read about, and instead of being insane, they were intelligent and careful. Slowly they began to warm towards me as well.

Everyone did research on my parents, my friends, my hometown and my school. None of them existed. There would be no home to return to if the Cullens kicked me out.

Carlisle took blood, tissue, urine and saliva samples to try to analyze them. He discovered that though my DNA was extremely close to that of a human being, it was not the same. My blood was tasteless and odorless, though it did keep me alive. The vampires could hear my heart beating and yet they had no thirst for my blood. I was definitely the other. I had the same strength and eating habits as Bella did, and yet I was not human. Carlisle theorized that I would not age and yet I was not a vampire. I didn't know where I belonged. The Cullen family decided that I would stay with them and they would take responsibility for me while they continued to find out what had happened. They had their book as proof of my story, and seeing as it was obviously professionally bound and published and yet did not exist in any database, there was nothing to do except believe it.

Conversations took place concerning my future.

"We'll get some papers for you, you'll need them, and you'll have to go to school with us." Jasper spoke up. He stood the furthest away, with a look of confused curiosity on his face while he looked at me.

"School?" I asked dumbly.

Esme smiled at me. "I know this…situation will be quite difficult dear, but we've had to deal with worse. I think-"

Edward's eyes flicked to her quickly and I knew he was reading her ideas.

"That the best idea is to tell everyone that you're a new Cullen-adopted." She finished.

Edward shook his head almost imperceptibly. He didn't want to pretend to be my brother, he didn't want me anywhere near his family, or Bella.

I frowned and faced Esme. "You're so generous even allowing me in your house. I don't know what else to do, would I even be allowed to leave?"

"No." Carlisle's voice was soft, but stern. "You don't realize what a danger you are here. Just letting you loose…no Katherine you must stay with us, at least until our "story" plays out."

"But that's like…two years…" I said quietly.

"Then so be it. It's our responsibility, if you were human on the other hand-"

"The fact that I am not human here, what does that mean? Why can't you smell my blood?"

"I don't know." Carlisle said slowly. "Maybe the same reason why Alice can't see you or Edward can't hear you, or you can't feel Jasper calming you down right now…maybe because in this world...you're not real."

"Well I guess it's good that you can't smell me than, if I'm going to be staying here." I said brightly. Even if this whole thing was fake, I didn't like the worried frowns Esme and Carlisle had on. I stared around at the group of perfect faces, including Bella who belong there, under Edward's arm.

Jasper and Alice left at seven to print me some papers, birth Certificates, passports, all kinds of important and essential records. All with the forced smile picture they snapped of me seconds before leaving.

Esme showed me to the last of many extra bedrooms, moving my things from the more secure bedroom downstairs where I had been kept. The others had been either dark and mysterious, or frilly, but when I entered this last room, I felt like it was designed especially for me. The walls were a light cream colour and the ceiling was painted to look like clouds in a sunset, so realistic that I felt like I was outside. Surprisingly there was a bed, with a twirly-metallic frame. Light wood floors, a walk in closet and an old fashioned stand-up mirror made me turn to look at Esme in amazement. I saw my own eyes shining in the mirror. "Oh, it's _perfect_."

"I'm glad." She smiled. "The closet's empty, I'm afraid, since you have been borrowing clothes but you can go into Olympia with Alice tomorrow to buy your clothes. She'll have fun with that."

"Thank-you"

"I expect you're tired, I'll leave you to sleep."

She closed the door behind her and now that I thought of it, I _was_ pretty tired. I stripped down to my underwear and slipped into the bed. I only had a minute to enjoy the feeling of the cool sheets before I blinked my eyes and forgot to open them.

When I woke up, it was still dark outside, so dark that I knew it was the middle of the night. I saw the moon outside my window, full and pure. Before I knew it, tears were rolling down my cheeks. It suddenly hit me that it wasn't the same moon that my parents, and my friends, and my little brother would be looking at. I was alone here, in a book, living in a house full of people who didn't really want me here. I didn't blame them but it would be nice to know there were people who supported me. I was a danger to this world. _Why me?_ Sobs shook my body and I hugged myself, trying to stop the trembling.

Cool arms moved around me and pulled me into a sitting position, then continued to hold me.

"Shh dear, calm down." It was Esme.

"Tell us what's wrong." Said Alice, her cool hand rubbing circles upon my back.

I sobbed quietly into their cold sturdiness.

"I'm…hic…alone!" I cried.

A pause, then: "You're with us. We don't know you yet, but we will. And we Cullens always stick together."

"Until Emmett and Rosalie go off and pretend to get married again. But they always come back when they knock their house down with all the-"

"Alice!" Esme admonished.

But I laughed now through my tears. "I feel…hic…so stupid."

"No reason to. A perfectly normal reaction."

"Not that we know anything about normal."

"Shh Alice! Now do you feel well enough to go back to sleep?"

I nodded, rubbing me eyes with the heels of my hands.

"Then we'll talk to you in the morning dear." The cold arms disappeared and I slumped back onto the pillows.

"Esme, Alice…thank you." I whispered.

A small sympathetic sigh and then the door clicked softly shut.

I woke up at eight and dressed in my dirty clothes quickly, and crept out of my room, finding my way downstairs. What day was it? In that case, what _year? _Details such as this kept stopping me in my tracks, reminding me that I didn't belong. I did my best to breathe and work through it.

Jasper and Emmett were playing chess in the living room, Edward was at the piano.

"Good morning." Alice greeted me, coming in from the kitchen. She inspected my face critically. I had stopped crying of course, but my eyes were most likely red and puffy. "Are you ready to go shopping?"

I brightened. "Yes!" I loved shopping, though my family was on the poor side of middle class, so I'd never been able to do it very often.

Alice looked excited too. "We'll go into Olympia then. Be ready in an hour."

We left in a fast dark car, quietly. I twisted my hands in my lap as Alice drove. Was it okay for me to speak casually now? What was the protocol for speaking with a vampire whose family had taken you in after you had fallen into a book?

Alice's clear voice interrupted my thoughts. "It will be nice to have someone to shop with who doesn't already have perfect clothes." She smiled over at me. "With you we get to start from scratch."

I smiled back. "Sounds good to me. I love clothes, and I know what I like but I never had enough money to really do it." I had avoided the issue of money until now. I knew the Cullens were exceptionally rich and I figured that it wasn't a situation where I could afford to be polite.

Hours later, my feet hurt, my arms hurt and I had a huge headache, but a smile was spread across my face. Thanks to Alice and the Cullen fortune, my closet was overflowing with gorgeous clothes. Most of it was my style, jeans with funky tops, cute skirts, belts and leggings, but Alice had insisted on buying three blazer, two sundresses and a cocktail dress. And the shoes…both Alice and I had gone overboard with the amount of shoes now lying on the closet floor, but we'd simply hadn't been able to cut down.

When we got home, we unloaded everything and chattered, like we had all day. When we finished, she slung an arm around my shoulders. "I haven't known you for long, and I'm already glad you're going to be my new sister."

I smiled back, flushing. "Thanks Alice. I hope everyone feels the same way soon."

She danced across the room, pausing at the door. "First day of school tomorrow by the way...may I suggest the green blouse?" she grinned and disappeared.


	3. Possibilities

My first day at Forks High wasn't something I was looking forward to exactly. I was crammed in the back seat with Jasper and Alice. We'd only been in the car for five minutes and I was already freezing and quivering with nerves. Jasper stared intently at me and I smiled over at him.

"Don't worry about it. You can't calm me down. I'm a freak of nature, remember?"

He grinned back sheepishly. "I thought I'd try anyway." In the books, I'd always liked Jasper, but he'd been portrayed as mysterious and standoffish. With me, he was able to joke and teased almost as bad as Emmett and was extremely intelligent. Was it because I didn't smell like a human that he could talk and touch and joke with me like he did with Esme and Rosalie? If so, I was glad for the absence of smell.

"Here we are, all the prestigious glory of Forks High." Emmett crowed sarcastically, as Rosalie pulled the BMW into the parking lot.

At one time, it might've been a dream come true, but at the moment, I was shaking in my boots. My extremely cool silver knee high boots, which I'd paired with black skinny jeans, a white Tshirt and a striped cardigan. I'd spent a long time in Alice's bathroom, where she did my makeup this morning. I had to fit in with the Cullens, with their exotic, intimidating looks and behaviour. Alice, as the style guru, had decided yesterday that I would buy clothes that fit the slightly professional style the Cullens had adopted.

When I slid awkwardly out of the back seat at school, people stared, mouths open. I plucked at the hem of my shirt as I tried to avoid the stares coming from all sides and Alice slapped my hand away gently.

"Confidence." She said, and walked gracefully forward, Jasper at her side, motioning for me to follow them. Carlisle and Esme had been the ones to sign me up for school,being the parents of the family. They had used all of the fake paperwork Alice and Jasper had gotten. In order to fit into the scheme of things more easily, my age had been changed to sixteen since I could easily pretend to be three years younger. It felt weird answering the teacher's questions with my fake background, like I was reading lines someone else had written for me, which was very close to reality. I'd studied my background the previous night. The story was to be put about that I was Esme's goddaughter, not related by blood. I had been orphaned recently in a freak accident when I had been away from my parents at school. So when the citizens of Forks and the students at the high school noticed that I didn't look like the rest of the Cullens, they'd have the answer why. I had been enrolled in the same classes as Alice, so that I wouldn't be alone and subject to the small town friendliness, as Bella experienced on her first day. I had to maintain the Cullen aura of mystery so that no one would get too close. As Jasper left for his first class, I followed Alice to our first, English. I noticed Bella and Edward hurrying in the opposite direction. Alice and I paused in the doorway and Edward stopped suddenly and pulled Bella into the corner of the building.

"I just want to try something." He murmured, lifting her chin.

Very slowly, he kissed her. Her reaction was the same as the book, as was Edward's, and they both looked quite exhilarated and happy. I smiled widely at Alice and we slapped a cheesy high five before ducking into class. At least my appearance hadn't changed that one thing.

I read parts of Twilight every night, to see what parts had changed. Since I'd arrived, the beginning had alerted, the meadow scene had disappeared completely, instead, the book introduced a new character: a dark mysterious girl with the secret to the world in her hands; me. I was a character of Twilight, and I could read about how Bella saw me, as a confusing part of the Cullen family. It was ironic that I was the only human Cullen, yet I was the one she was scared of. I'd mourned the loss of the meadow scene so much that I plucked it out of my memory and wrote it down, tweaking parts to make it as accurate as possible. After that, I wrote another scene, then another, until the main events for the next two years were down on paper, rough as they were, in my angular writing and scribbled out sentences. Tonight, when I picked up my pen, intending to describe Victoria, piano music drifted into my room and my concentration disappeared. Abandoning the notebook that I kept all the sections of New Moon in, I went downstairs. Everyone else had gone hunting, but Edward had stayed behind. Sometimes I felt like I might be starting to be accepted, but then something like this happened. Edward hadn't stayed at home because he wasn't thirsty; he was home to keep an eye on me. A concerto started as I entered the room. I went to sit on the other end of the bench, barely breathing. I hadn't made much progress in making Edward trust me, or even like me; he believed I was a vulnerability in his family. I believed him for the most part, but I also knew that I would never do anything purposely to hurt them.

"You're very talented" I said, once the music stopped.

"Thank you."

His fingers moved as if to begin another piece, but paused over the keys.

"I know I haven't been…friendly Katherine, but-"

"I understand." I mean. You've all been over generous. But I don't belong here. I'm not a Cullen."

He nodded his head slightly. "You aren't a Cullen, but maybe someday you'll be a part of the family nevertheless. Maybe you'll be a Hale, like Rosalie and Jasper." He joked. "I've got to respect the fact that you're living with us. So would you like to come with me as I visit Bella?"

"That's not respect! That's keeping me under surveillance." I teased. "But yeah, sure, I'll come." Apart from school, and the one shopping trip to Olympia I hadn't been out of the house in weeks. We left the house together and I felt a little lighter because of him friendliness. This feeling was replaced soon with anxiety once he started to drive. In his Volvo, I was plastered to the seat. "Can you please drive a little slower?"

He made the meter go down one notch and chuckled.

"If I die, it's your fault!" I screeched as the car hurtled around a corner.

He didn't answer as we turned another speedy corner onto Bella's street. His face was tensed, his hands clenched on the wheel. There were three cars in Bella's driveway. An old red truck, a police cruiser and an old black ford.

"Black." Edward spit. "We have to leave."

What was Black? I didn't understand until we were almost to Bella's house_. Jacob and Billy Black were in the house._ I jumped on Edward's hand as he moved to the gearshift.

"No! I can…I can do...surveillance!"

Jacob Black was my favourite character in all of the books. Now that I was doomed to live in this piece of fiction, would I actually be able to look at, talk to and meet my favourite character? As selfish as it was, I had to try.

Edward actually looked thoughtful. As he couldn't read my thoughts, he couldn't see my ulterior motives.

"Good idea. It's better to be there than for me to just listen to their thoughts. I'll be back when they leave."

I almost jumped out of the car and sprinted to the front door, pressing my lips together to hide the insane grin that threatened to spread. I stopped on the porch, smoothing my hair and straightening my clothes before knocking on the door. Charlie answered.

"Hi, I'm a friend of Bella's. My name is Katherine Cullen."

Bella was looking over his shoulder, father and daughter had identical confused expressions, but Bella recovered first. I distantly saw another face behind Bella but deliberately diverted my eyes, wanting to get the full effect once I stepped inside.

"Um, yeah, c'mon in Katherine."

I squeezed past Charlie, who was still looking at me with confusion and followed Bella into the kitchen. I could hear Charlie go back to the front room and then cheer at the game on the television.

The kitchen was a small room and the tall copper skinned boy was the first thing I saw. Not quite a foot taller than I was, long glossy hair pulled back in a ponytail, dark eyes flickering from Bella to me curiously.

"I'm Katherine Cullen." I managed to say. And shakily, I took a step closer and held out a hand.

A smile stretched across his face, bright white against his dark skin. He took my hand for a moment. "Jacob Black." He nodded.

Bella was making grilled cheese sandwiches in a frying pan. "Bella." I raised my voice slightly. "Edward'll be over later."

"Hopefully, he won't come til' we're gone, Billy's superstitious." Jacob walked over to Bella and leaned against the cupboard, gazing at her. "He has this weird prejudice again the Cullens. Can't believe he hasn't rushed in here to see you." He acknowledged me with another nod.

"Oh, well I'm new." I said nervously. "So how do you know Bella?" I had grown used to knowing what questions would be expected and I always asked even though I already knew the answers. I tuned out slightly as he explained what I already knew, just watching as he smiled cheerfully. My eyes took in everything I remembered from the books; his deep-set eyes, husky voice. I smiled at him, head full to bursting. Bella and Jacob eventually joined me at the little table and we chatted, Bella mostly staring out the window, watching for Edward. I was also quiet, content to listen to Jacob's continuous chatter, his happiness infectious.

"Are your friends always so quiet?" Jacob murmured to Bella. I grinned at him.

"I'm only quiet because I can't get a word in edgewise."

He skin darkened slightly as he blushed. He had been talking quite a lot.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly. "You remind me a lot of my friend Embry. He doesn't talk a lot in front of people he's just met either. But now that you mention it, maybe it's because me and Quil are always talking."

Quil and Embry, some more of my favourite characters. It was weird, knowing what was in store for these people. Quil, Embry, Jacob and many other teenage Quileutes would be werewolves this time next year.

"Weird names." Bella commented.

Jacob grinned at her. "Yeah but you can't say anything to them. They'll tag team you."

I froze. That was a line from the second book, New Moon, it wasn't supposed to happen now. A headache started behind my eyes. A simple conversation with me could change everything. I was a potential disaster, and all I had to do was talk, or smile at someone and the whole story could change! Imagine what could happen if I actually did something intentionally. I should be locked up, so that no one would be able to talk to me, no one would know about me.

"Thanks for letting us stay for the game." Billy was wheeling himself into the entryway, followed by Charlie. Jacob threw down his cards and strode to the door too. I didn't pay attention to their chatter.

"Be Katherine, nice to meet you!" Jacob called on his way out, snapping me out of my depressing daze.

"You too." I half-heartedly called back, waving.

The engine of their car soon puttered away, replaced by the purr of the more familiar Volvo. Bella's whole face lit up and she almost pulled the door off its hinges trying to get to Edward. They were whispering quietly to each other and I stayed where I was, stuffing everyone's abandoned cards back in the little cardboard box.

"C'mon Katherine, Esme will be waiting." Edward called. I joined them in the entryway just as Charlie entered from the front room.

"How did you meet Bella again?" he asked, scrutinising me.

I stared for a minute. Hadn't Bella told him about me?

"I-I'm Edward's sister."

He started. "I thought Carlisle only had two daughters."

She hadn't even told him Carlisle had adopted someone new? "I'm kind of new. Carlisle and Esme adopted me just recently."

"Well we'd better get home, you know how Esme worries." Edward interjected.

I followed him outside quickly and the ride back to the Cullen mansion was silent, neither of us were in the mood for chatter. I was still in my depressing cloud, which had been added to by Charlie's ignorance.

**Some reviews would be appreciated. **


	4. Apology and Acceptance

Once we arrived back at the house, I went straight to my room, fuelled by my frustration. I had an idea. Maybe it was crazy, but this whole thing was crazy, was it not? I couldn't pretend I was dreaming anymore, or even in a coma. This was real and I was stuck knowing everything while everyone else was ignorant. I would do my damn best to see that the next two years would stay on track.

I had been writing as much as I remembered from the Twilight series in hopes that it would come in handy. I thought it would be important to remember important events and dates and facts from this world. At my desk, I pulled my notebook closer, there were several devoted to each book of the Twilight series, almost every scene written messily down. All I had to do was put them together. Opening the closest one, I started writing.

At five o'clock in the morning, I threw my third pen across the room and stretched my arms above my head painfully, feeling my shoulder and wrists crack. I was afraid to crack my fingers; it wouldn't surprise me if they all broke off. For over five hours, I'd written three books, not mine, but Stephanie Meyer's. All the scenes were in order, written as closely to the original version I could remember. I scooped them in my aching arms and went downstairs.

"Katherine!"

"Why are you up so early?" Carlisle and Alice exclaimed. Esme, Jasper and Edward looked on as well. I dumped the books onto a nearby table and took a deep breath, preparing my muddled mind for what I had to say.

"I know everything that is going to happen here. I've been writing everything down in these notebooks for the past while, but last night I really buckled down and finished them. These books contain everything that's going to happen in the next two years, apart from the ending, which I can't tell you yet. You'll see why. I want you to read them, because if you know what's to happen and how you should react, you'll still have your happy ending, see?"

I picked up the first notebook and handed it to Carlisle, the leader, the creator, the father of this family, the centre. He should be the one to read them first, it was only right. "They're labelled so you know what order they go in. I said, collapsing on the couch next to Alice. She wordlessly drew a thick blanket over me, wedging a pillow under my head. For a while, I watched Carlisle's stone face as he read, then Esme's as the first one was passed to her. Soon all of them were reading a notebook, each marble face expressionless. I fell asleep when Rosalie and Emmett joined and Carlisle started to explain what was happening to them, in a whisper to quiet and too fast for me to hear.

"Should we wake her up?"

"Let her rest, she's been up all night, poor thing."

"Edward, is she awake?"

"For the sixth time Alice, I can't read her thoughts!"

"Right, sorry...oh look, she's moving anyways!"

I rolled over slowly and fell-with a thump-to the floor.

Alice's laughter rang out, clear as a bell, as well as Emmett's loud guffaw and Rosalie's snickering. With red cheeks, I struggled to get up and failed.

"C'mon, you can't lie on the floor all day." Emmett teased.

I blushed even more. "imstuckinthebblanket." I muttered.

"What?"

"I'm stuck in the blanket."

Laughter rang out again, joined with Edward's chuckle and a low snorting that must be Jasper. Alice helped me get out of the blanket and a few minutes later, I was sitting on the couch, stomach rumbling.

"I'll go make you breakfast." Edward offered, and was off like a flash to the kitchen

"What's with him?" I asked in surprise.

"You'll have to ask him later. And Carlisle and Esme are in the office." Jasper answered my second question before I could ask it.

I felt like a spotlight was shining on me, everyone was staring.

"Er…how long was I out? Have you all…um…read the books?"

"Only about five hours and yes." Rosalie answered. Even he was acting civilised.

"And…what do you think?"

Suddenly I was freezing and I realized Alice was hugging me. When she pulled away, her face was serious. "You had to hold in so much. For _us_, for everyone. Thank you."

"Wow. You're…welcome?" I was confused. I hadn't done anything special. Anyone else would've done the same, wouldn't they?

Edward deposited a huge plate of eggs and bacon in my lap. I ate hungrily and when I looked up again, Carlisle and Esme had entered the room.

"It was very smart of you not to put the ending in there. If we ever met Aro again, he would know what you do not want him to know."

"Yes. And we will meet him again."

Esme crossed to my side and pushed my messy hair behind my ear, smoothing it down. "Thank you for telling us. It was the perfect thing to do."

I just nodded, my heart full. My mom used to touch my hair just like this when I was sick. I remembered briefly the warm feel of her fingers pulling through my hair and a lump rose in my throat. "You're probably still tired, why don't you sleep for a few hours?" Carlisle suggested.

I got to my feet stiffly and he touched my shoulder lightly on the way out. Once in my room, I couldn't sleep so I sat on top of the blankets, running a brush through my hair again and again, the motion familiar and soothing. There was the lightest of knocks on the door.

"Come in Esme." I called. That was funny, she'd just told me to go to sleep, yet she was checking in on me only minutes later? No one else visited me in my room except Alice and she never bothered to knock, choosing to barge right in instead. The door opened to bronze hair instead of the soft brown I'd been expecting.

"Oh. Edward." I said in surprise. "What…?"

"Could I talk to you?"

"Sure. Um…sit down if you want." I offered, and then felt foolish. Vampires had no need to sit.

But he remained polite. "Thank you" he sat beside me. "I know I said yesterday that I hadn't been friendly, but now I wanted to formally apologize. I'm sorry. I'm not used to having friends other than my family and Bella, but I want to be your friend Katherine. I've underestimated you, everyone has. I thought you'd be a danger, but showing us your books…that was extremely brave."

I was speechless. Brave? Me? I was terrified of spiders and the dark, I wasn't brave.

"Um, wow, that was...thanks."

He laughed. "It's the truth." His face went suddenly serious. "So Bella is going to be tracked by this…James?"

"Edward, you can't stop it. It all works out. I promise."

Pain flitted over his features. "But what if-"

"Forget it. She'll live to marry you, don't worry. I was just thinking. Should be tell Bella?"

"Parts. We should tell her parts. You said she has to react in certain ways and as you know-"

"She's a terrible liar." I finished, grinning. "Okay then. You can do that. I'd be seriously pissed if my boyfriend was keeping things from me. It'd be hard to keep my opinion to myself."

"Opinionated are you?"

"Extremely. Anyways, I think I'll have a nap now if you don't mind."

Edward was at the door before I could blink. "Of course. Sleep Well."

After I heard his chuckles join Alice's laughter downstairs, I buried my face in the pillow. When we got through this book, there was still three more. It was hard to fathom seeing them through to their ends in real time. There was no flipping to the end here. I would have to be careful if I was going to be in the middle of the dangerous situations that were ahead. The Cullens had to focus on Bella's protection if the story was to end properly, which meant I would be the vulnerable spot. It would be a miracle if I made it out alive.

Spring Break arrived faster than I expected. The days no longer dragged on now that I could be comfortable with my new family. Everyone was tense, waiting for Alice's vision about the thunderstorm, and then we'd all troop up to the baseball clearing. I was going as well; I wasn't in danger since the nomads wouldn't be able to smell me. I'd asked Edward out of curiosity what I smiled like to him. He'd replied that it wasn't human-like, not vampiric, but like air, fresh, clean air. Carlisle was worried that James would realize I was human-like with a few bizarre quirks and get curious, but James wasn't a vegetarian vampire like the Cullens. I was sure he would smell Bella's warm blood and instincts would overpower curiosity.

Edward had overcome his suspicion of me after reading my notebooks and it was quite common now for us to sit around in his room while he educated my taste in music. After months of this new world, this new life, Edward was more real to me, in a way that shocked me. He was a _friend_. I was starting to feel like I belonged. Like when Esme stroked my hair whenever I sat next to her, or when Emmett teased me about the way I looked in the morning, no makeup, messy hair and sleepy eyes. I was different and it was a new experience to have a human-like girl living with them. I had to eat, and they enjoyed cooking out of necessity for the first time. I got pimples and big bites and cuts and I had to fix them. I reminded them about the little human things they had forgotten. I was easily the slowest, weakest ugliest, stupidest and all around most vulnerable family member but they _liked_ me.

"I like this one." I commented. I hung upside down off of Edward's black couch, legs in the air. He sat on the floor next to the stereo, a stack of neatly labelled CDs in his hand.

"Thought you would. You love all the acoustic stuff."

"I like rock too."

He rolled his eyes. "You need to appreciate the classics."

"I like the Beatles, they're classic."

"I was sixty six when they were popular. I mean classical music, Beethoven and Chopin. _My_ classics."

"Too boring." The blood was rushing to my head now but I didn't feel like sitting up.

"Your face is purple."

"You're hair's a non colour."

"Your T shirt's on backwards."

I looked down the front of the shirt and saw the tag sticking up.

"Shut up."

It was a game we played. It never lasted long as there wasn't much about him for me to tease about. I sat up once I started getting dizzy and waited for the room to stop spinning. The CD ended but Edward didn't replace it. He was staring at the floor, my fingers rubbing lightly over the cover of one of the CDs.

"What was your family like?"

His voice surprised me, he hadn't looked like he was thinking deeply. Curiosity oozed in his every word and I looked at him silently. I'd purposely driven every thought of my former family from my mind. My family, my friends…

But with Edward's question ringing in my ears, I suddenly _wanted _to talk about it and to tell him.

"My parents were…normal. My Dad was the funniest person you'd ever meet. So…_weird_." I found myself smiling. "My mum was so hardworking and sweet. Both of them were small with dark hair, like me. My dad's was curly. And I had a brother, younger than me, only fourteen. His name was Nick…" the thought of my little brother, who played electric guitar and hated to be alone made me curl my knees to my chest tightly and smile sadly.

A blanket was wrapped around me, and Edward sat beside me on the sofa. I hadn't even realized he'd moved from his spot on the floor. No more words were said, I needed the silence for a moment and he gave it to me. I pulled the blanket around myself tightly and began to describe my friends. "I didn't have my girl friends, I found they were so catty and since I didn't like to gossip, they left in the end. They found me boring. I had a few guys friends though, all of my hilarious and protective. I miss them." I thought back and my friends didn't seem as close anymore. "I had never truly found my place in the world yet." Edward's cool hand rested on my shoulder. "Maybe you will find it here." In that moment, Edward because my best friend, my protector and my brother for real. A bond twined thickly around us, a bond of mutual family love that could not be broken; human and vampire, girl and boy, sister and brother.


	5. The Hunter

Alice's vision soon arrived and that night Emmett scooped me up and we sped along with the family to the baseball field while Edward went to get Bella. His love for her, even this early was so apparent you could practically slip in it. I was happy for him.

"Getting heavy, short stuff." Emmett teased, pretending to wince as he set me down.

"Oh shut up you big goof!"

He flashed gleaming teeth and then disappeared.

I walked to meet Esme, shivering slightly. This was a big moment. All of the future problems stemmed from this one meeting. James sees Bella, which eventually leads to his death, and that results in Victoria and Laurent coming back next year to find Bella. Their appearance triggers several more teenage Quileutes to change into werewolves/shapeshifters, enlarging the pack. Laurent will die. In another matter of months, Victoria will come back with an army of newborn vampires to fight. Later, after Victoria's death, Edward and Bella will get married, and have a bouncing baby half vamp. The birth will call for the necessity of Bella's transformation into vampire. Of course intertwined throughout the whole story were the ever present shadows of the Volturi too. Everything truly starts at the moment the nomads step through the trees.

"Okay, let's go." Edward appeared with Bella and she walked to join Esme and I. Esme would be refereeing. I paid close attention, the thunderous cracks of the bat making me flinch. I had ever enjoyed thunderstorms. No one was playing for fun except for Emmett, who took great pleasure in tagging Edward out twice in a row. I watched Alice carefully, squinting, waiting for her face to go blank with a vision. The minute it happened, I turned to Bella.

"They'll be here soon. Don't say anything, don't move."

Edward appeared. "Take your hair down." He arranged the strands around her face, and I watched the scene play out almost exactly, right before my eyes. The nomads arrived, Laurent misleadingly in front.

Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett went to meet them.

"My family. Jasper Emmett, Alice Rosalie and over there is Esme, Edward, Katherine and Bella." Carlisle spoke, a friendly lilt to his usually serious voice. The breeze picked up, blowing from behind us and I braced myself.

James took a deep breath, Bella's scent filling his nostrils.

His eyes gleamed before he pounced. Everyone moved in perfect synchronization to form a wall between James and Bella. Edward was almost nose to nose with James, both of them snarling, when my hair blew out around me, catching James's attention. I smoothed down the dark strands hopelessly, but it was too late. His took another breath, trying to find my scent, a scent that didn't exist. I watched as his eyes moved to my neck, watching the blood pulse under the skin. They then traveled down to my chest, where my heart was beating quickly, as if it knew something was wrong.

"A non scent. I've never experienced anything such as this." James's brow furrowed and he frowned in my direction, sinking into a crouch once again. He had to be bluffing, he didn't have any reason to hurt me, and I wouldn't even make a meal for him. Everyone must stay with Bella. That same gleam came into his eyes, this time calculating rather than hungry and suddenly Edward's hand was clamped over my arm, pulling me behind him as I heard James's teeth snap into the air where I had been a moment ago.

"Edward, no!" I moaned, hitting his back fruitlessly, my fist throbbed.

James's eyes glinted in challenge.

"No." Carlisle said firmly. James slowly straightened. "Now, why don't we show you to our home, friends? Boys, take Bella and Katherine home."

I followed Emmett to the trees on foot and then Jasper scooped me up and started running for the Jeep.

"Drive, Emmett." Jasper deposited me in the back and vaulted over the side, buckling me in. Bella was beside me, in her own harness, eyes wide. "They'll come after you too now!" She screamed over the roar of the engine. The Jeep was flying down the road; my eyes were watering in the wind.

"Don't worry about me Bella, we have to protect you."

Edward's jaw was set in the front seat, eyes fixed on the road ahead while his brother drove.

"Edward don't-"

"Don't tell me not to blame myself. I put you both in danger."

"Anyone would've-"

"Stop. Stop forgiving me. It's my fault and I'll fix it even if it means coming with you and Bella myself!"

"No, I can't go, it has to be just Bella."

He didn't answer to I turned to look at Jasper, whose expression was of stone. "I can't go Jazz."

He was working hard to calm Bella down, but his mouth moved quickly. "He's coming after you too Katherine. How else will we keep you safe?"

I turned my face into his hard shoulder.

I didn't get a chance for control until much, much later, after I was holed up in a hotel room with Alice, Bella, and Jasper. It had been a difficult scene when we finally got back to the mansion. I thought back…

"I can't go! Think of what could change!" I shouted. No one seemed to be listening.

"Katherine, if you won't go you won't be protected. You will die." Carlisle finally pointed out.

"This could change everything, what about your happy ending?"

"Edward was suddenly standing right in front of me, panic and pain etched into his features. "It won't be a happy ending if we fail in protecting you. I won't be happy if you're not in it!"

We were both breathing very hard, eyes locked. He was willing; they were all willing to risk everything to keep me safe.

I brought myself back to the present. I didn't know what would happen now. Sure, we were in the same hotel and a tracker vampire was after Bella, but he was also after me, for reasons unknown. Edward had said he saw me as a trophy, the human without a scent; another kill to add to his body count trophy room.

I sat very straight on the lumpy couch and tried to control my jumpy heart by breathing very slowly and deeply.

"That's it Katherine. You have no idea how much I wish I could help you right now." Jasper said softly from his corner of the room.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it." In complete contrast to my words, I bent over and put my head between my knees, trying to stop the horrible dizziness.

The hours passed in relative silence. When Bella woke, I joined her in the other room.

"When he calls, you have to remember to sound panicked. He doesn't have your mother. She's fine, still in Florida." I said for the millionth time. Bella'd already left the message on her mother's machine. We'd been holed up in the bedroom ever since.

The cell phone rang. I grabbed Bella's hand and we ran into the other room as Alice wordlessly held the phone out. We listened to the conversation in silence, and then to my horror, she held out the phone to me." My _mom_ wants to say hi."

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Tell me, how can you be a human with no scent?" James's steel voice in my ear made me tremble.

"I don't know."

"_Don't answer unless I tell you to_. Now, you and Bella are going to take a little side trip. You will find a way to leave the vampires you're with and you will follow Bella to her house. Say 'that's nice of you' if you understand."

"That's nice of you." I croaked.

"I am going to kill Bella Swan." He said calmly. "And as for you, well. I think I'll have a little fun. Who knows what you're capable of? You might make a nice addition to my coven."

The line went dead and I swallowed with difficulty. "It's time. He wants both of us to go and meet him." I told Alice and Jasper. They nodded grimly and Bella frowned at me. "Didn't he tell you?" She asked. "He'll know if they come! He'll hurt Edward!" Her hands were shaking badly.

"The Cullens are stronger than he is, Bella, plus they know more about the vampire world than we ever could. They know what to do. He won't get the chance to hurt any of them, and if they're there, he won't be able to hurt us either."

Alice piled us into a car and we drove, stopped blocks away from the studio. We got out shakily and I turned to Alice, feeling the need to tell her everything. "Alice, he threatened to turn me into a vampire." Her lips tightened and she touched my hand lightly. "We won't let that happen, Katherine." I nodded and Bella and I began the walk to the studio together. We clasped hands.


	6. Carlisle's Theory

Once we reached the studio, Bella and I clasped hands wordlessly and stepped inside. We both needed the comfort of knowing we weren't alone. We heard Bella's mother's voice echo across the room to us and Bella flinched, fighting the urge to run to the source. Instead, just like we planned she called out. "Mom? Are you okay?"

James stepped out of the shadows and leered at us. "Oh I guess I never had her at all." He drawled, dropping a remote on the floor. Behind him was the television that was playing Bella's home video.

It was more terrifying when it was reality than when all I had to do was read the scene. Even though I knew help was on the way, facing James was like climbing over the fence in the zoo and looking a tiger in the eye. Every fibre of my being was telling me to run but it wasn't time yet. I couldn't just turn the page.

"You don't mind if I film this, do you? I would very much like to remember these next few moments" James said to us, flipping open a handheld video camera. I'm going to enjoy this very m-"

"NOW!" I screamed it, throwing myself and Bella down onto the floor as the windows shattered, the Cullens all bursting in at once. James looked furious and put up a fight. He was very fast. I nudged Bella and we began to crawl back to the door, out of the wreckage. My head was suddenly yanked back and James's voice was in my ear. "I'm better than they are." He snarled, his foot connecting with my side and I gasped, crumpling. He moved over me so fast and I saw him kick Bella as well, driving her back against a wall. Through the pain clouding my vision, I saw that he had a grip on Bella's wrist and he bent to tear at it with him teeth. I could hear her screams for a second before I heard the metallic rip of James's head leaving his shoulders. Emmett and Jasper descended on James, backing out of the building into the alleyway behind. I heard distant metallic rips and tears and knew that any second; James would be no more than a pile of ashes. Carlisle and Edward were already taking care of Bella. I watched them until I felt the flames moments later as the fire started and Edward began to suck out the venom from Bella's wrist. I looked away from his crazed eyes and curled around myself. The pain from my ribs was easier to bear than I had thought.

When all was taken care of, a strong set of arms lifted me and carried me back to the waiting car. Esme was whispering soft words and we drove, her worried eyes passing over my bloodstained shirt. "I think I'm mostly okay" I said slowly. It hurt to breathe.

Once admitted into the hospital, I fell asleep and by the time I woke up, the doctors had taken care of my injuries. My side was bandaged but I was alert and after moving a few times to test out my injuries, I found there wasn't much pain.

The story to tell Bella's parents was that Edward and Carlisle had sent me up to Bella's hotel room to talk to her and she had tripped and fallen down the stairs, knocking me down before she fell out of a window. Everyone seemed to accept this as normal for Bella and I wondered faintly what other accidents she had gotten in to warrant this as normal.

Back at home, I wandered around the Cullen house and marveled how I was coming to see it as my place in this world. I stepped into Carlisle office at the end of my explorations and cleared my throat awkwardly. I had a question that I needed answered and if anyone could help, it was Carlisle.

"Carlisle, when James kicked tossed us around, he hurt Bella so much more than I. did the bloodlust take over, or-?"

"Ah, yes." He frowned thoughtfully. "He would not have been able to change the strength of his blows according to who he was fighting, especially as some of his opponents were vampire. He gave everyone his worst, including you." His eyes looked tired as he rubbed at them. "In short, I don't believe you can die quite as easily as Humans can."

"I'm human." I whispered.

"Yes, in your world. You weren't made for this one; therefore you seemed to be made of stronger stuff."

"I can't die?"

"Oh I wouldn't go that far. You aren't vampiric Katherine. You just have a protective shell."

I stared down at my hands for a long time. "But what about natural causes and old age and all that."

"Well you can't die of old age if you can't age at all."

I sucked in a breath. "I can't age?"

"It's just a theory of course, but you've been here for several months and there's no change. Your hair hasn't grown, not even your fingernails. Still, it's a delicate subject…"

"I know. Thank for telling me. Thanks for…everything Carlisle."

I left the office in a daze. I might not be aging. I might not be able to die. It did make sense, but I couldn't make my brain wrap itself around it. My height wasn't the thing that made me special anymore. Now I had a protective shell that caused me to be tougher than humans, another world waiting for me to re-enter it and a knowledge base of events that would happen in the little town for the next two years. Maybe I belonged with the Cullens just a little bit more now.

**This fic will indeed go through all of the Twilight books, so it won't be ending anytime soon. The next books will deviate more from the story. Review please. I have gotten a grand total of two reviews so far. I would like to know if you would like me to keep going or not and if it is even worth my time.**


	7. Costume and Conclusion

"C'mon, this is fun!" I sang happily, handing Alice the brown eye liner.

"Since when did being kidnapped and tortured start being fun?" Bella grumbled, folding her arms across her chest.

"It's not torture. It's called makeup. And don't fold your arms, you'll wrinkle the dress." Alice said dryly, picking up the waterproof mascara.

"I don't understand why I need to get all dressed up for." She plucked at the blue dress Alice had to practically force over her head.

"Okay you're done. Edward's downstairs, he'll take over."

Bella stomped out of the room, pulling the rhinestone barrette out of her hair.

"Stubborn." Alice muttered. "Now it's your turn, and I know you won't be as difficult as Bella."

"I don't think it's possible." I grinned. I had been to Prom before, in my own world, and now that I was doing it again, it hit me how different I was from my old self. I wasn't nearly as annoying or prone to giggles. I could hold an informed and intelligent conversation easily and most of all I felt more comfortable in my own skin. I could act more natural, more me and if people didn't like it, I didn't care. It felt good to be returning to a point in my life that I always wished I could have done over. Now I could.

Two hours later, I walked into the forks high school Gym with Alice and Jasper. My dark hair was curled and Alice had put something in it to make it even shinier than usual. My dress was floor length, strapless and emerald green with sparkles set into the skirt. I had always liked to dress up once in a while. Most of the time I was content to wear jeans and a T-shirt, but every so often I got the urge to feel glamorous and thankfully this was one of those nights. I sighed contentedly and looked around the crowded room, skimming over the faces of classmates I hadn't gotten to know. Everyone looked excited and a little uncomfortable. The music was heavy on the bass, and so even my breathing was affected by the thumping. It was the epitome of a high school prom.

"See you in a bit!" Jasper whirled Alice away in an effortless dance. I smiled and sat at one of the tables to watch, I had never really been any good at dancing, though I liked it. Rosalie and Emmett twirled provocatively, most of the male population ogling. Bella and Edward danced too, in the middle of the room, like they were in their own world, but then I saw him stiffen, looking over to his right. I followed his gaze and laughed. Jacob Black stood in the doorway in a shirt and tie, shifting uncomfortable form foot to foot. I'd forgotten he would be here. I watched him approach Bella and then as he cut in.

"He's here to warn her." Edward growled, joining me. "Billy sent him." I smiled at his tone.

"I know."

"Why does she enjoy his company?" he wondered. "I can't see the attraction"

I looked obligingly, but couldn't wipe the smile off my face. "You know how I told you I had favorite characters when I was reading your book?"

He nodded.

"Jacob's my favorite"

He threw his hands up in the air dramatically and full out glowered at Jacob. "I'm going to go pretend to get a drink."

As soon as he left, Alice swept over.

"You're all alone, why haven't you asked anyone to dance?"

"I haven't really seen anyone who catches my eye. I like just listening to the music and people-watching." I answered honestly. Behind us, the song ended. Her eyes travelled over my shoulder and she jumped up.

"What's wrong?" I swiveled around and stared blankly for a second.

"Hey Katherine. Remember me, we met at Bella's?" Jacob stuck his hands in his pockets and grinned uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I remember you Jacob." I heard myself saying. I smiled at him.

"Would...would you like to dance?"

"Oh-uh. Sure."

I followed him onto the edge of the dance floor and placed my arms around his neck.

"So…why're you here?" I asked the one question I knew the answer to, and the one question he would expect to be asked. It was a little boring playing along sometimes.

"Dad wanted me to come and talk to Bella. He wouldn't be very happy to know I'm talking to you."

"Because I'm a Cullen?"

He looked surprised. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

I grinned. "Lucky guess."

I happened to glance to the side and saw Alice and Rosalie looking at me. I wasn't sure if they looked happy I was dancing finally or revolted that all I was doing was revolving in slow circles.

"What?" Jacob asked.

"My sisters are just being weird." I sighed.

The song's last notes faded away and Jacob stopped but didn't let me go.

"Bella's in love with your brother, isn't she?"

"Yes."

"And he loves her?"

"Yes."

He blew out a sigh and stepped away, forcing a smile. "Knew it." He shoved his hands in his pockets again. "Hey, come up and visit me in La Push sometime."

I smiled and waved as he walked out and then went back to my table. I couldn't visit him; maybe I wouldn't even be able to see him for a very long time. It was a shame, I genuinely liked Jacob the person instead of Jacob the character. I would have liked to talk to him more. I wandered over to one of the wide, tall windows framing the ballroom and looked out.

There was a possibility that the powers that brought me here would also take me back tonight. It was the end of the book after all. I didn't feel like I was done here yet. Looking up into the dusky evening sky, I whispered a small wish out into the night air. I wished to stay, for just a little while longer at least. I felt foolish then and leaned against the windowsill looking out.

Twilight was fading and in the distance, I could faintly see a new moon.

**The Twilight portion of this fic is now over. What did you think? Are you excited for New Moon? New Moon is my favorite book of the series by far, I often read it as a stand-alone novel.**


	8. New Moon

Wasn't it ironic that on this night, the first night written in Stephanie Meyer's second book, I could walk outside at look at a new moon? Snorting, I walked inside again. I'd been part of the Cullen family for over six months now, and I felt completely comfortable sitting between Edward and Alice, leaning my head on Alice's shoulder. I'd gotten more used to the perpetual cold that permeated this house and its inhabitants. It just seemed normal now. I knew to always wear socks and there were plenty of blankets around the house, draped over couches and banisters just waiting for me to wrap myself in them.

School has just started again, I was entering grade twelve, even though-in my world- I'd have graduated last year. The summer had been safe, but not uneventful. Alice had taken me to New York for a week, once she'd learned I'd always wanted to go. Then the whole family had gone to Paris for a weekend, all of us showing off our language skills. Even I was bilingual, because in my world, I'd lived in Canada, which was a bilingual country. And at the end of August, Edward had accompanied me to the tiny town of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, where I had lived. Of course, no one I knew lived there in this world, but the buildings were similar, and I got to look at where my house had been. That had been a hard trip. But it had been almost cleansing in a way too, ridding me of built-up homesickness. It helped me to accept my present fate and to throw myself more completely into loving and co-operating with my new family and general situation. It was all behind me now, and I looked forward to starting school back in Forks.

"Bella's birthday's tomorrow." I angled my head to look at Edward as we sat on a sofa in the living room.

He stared ahead in silence. We all knew that Bella's birthday would trigger our disappearance. We would go and hope all was well here, that nothing veered from the storyline.

"What would happen if we chose to remain here? I don't want to hurt her. I mean-could we?" Edward's words were desperate, his sentences, usually so coolly delivered, were rushed.

I shook my head slowly. We'd had similar conversations before, but his ideas were more desperate each time. "I don't know, Edward."

"Damn it!" he shot to his feet and flipped over the coffee table, sending glass shards flying. I pulled my feet of the floor, flinching, but Edward was already gone, Alice was flying around cleaning up, making sure every piece of glass was gone. As I pulled my legs up onto the sofa, I felt a sharp pain in my ankle, where I found a piece of glass wedged into the skin.

Alice hurried over with the first aid kit Esme and Carlisle kept because of Bella and I watched curiously as she removed the glass, making blood bubble to the surface.

"Is it weird for you?" I asked her. "Seeing it, but not smelling it?"

She placed a bandage over the cut, biting her lip. "Not really. Since I can't smell it, it's like it's just another liquid, not true blood. It makes us happy that we are able to take care of you without being affected by the blood. It has given Jasper more control over his instincts."

She cast a look over her shoulder at the ruined frame of the coffee table. "Esme's going toflip, she loved that table. Okay you're all set to go apologize to Edward."

I scowled. "You and your stupid visions." I muttered. She knew exactly what I had been going to do.

"Oh that wasn't a vision, I can't see you, remember? You are just easy to read."

Shaking my head, I ran up the stairs to Edward's room. Classical music poured through the speakers and I let myself in. Clothes and books littered the floor of his usually immaculate room, betraying his growing anxiety.

"Hey, you're seventeen, aren't you supposed to be listening to heavy metal or something?" I said lightly, stepping over a pile of hardcover novels. I picked my way over to where he sat on his sofa and leaned against the wall.

"I'm nearly one hundred and ten. In my day this _was_ heavy metal." I smiled, glad his sense of humour was back already.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up again. I just want you to be prepared." I said softly.

"I know. It doesn't make it easier to endure. How will I force myself to isolate her for so long? I don't know if I can do it Katherine." His voice was filled with pain, pain so real it twisted my heart. Edward had always seemed so strong to me, an unbreakable force, but here he was breaking into pieces before my eyes, crumbling.

"We'll help you." I insisted. "If there was any way that we could stay and Bella would still rely on Jacob, we'd stay, but if you're here…Jacob won't even be a passing thought for Bella."

"Well." He hugged me, lightly pulling my hair, trying to disguise his pain. It was so powerful he could not hide it. "Since Bella will have her best friend, I'm glad I'll have mine."

I tried hard not to shiver, I knew how bad he felt about his cold skin. "Am I really your best friend?" It was best to change the subject. Talking about it was not something that Edward enjoyed, and I didn't blame him.

"Of course. No one has followed me around and bothered me the way you have." He stated grandly, pulling back. "Now I'd better get you to Bella's."

I'd been going to Bella's every time Jacob decided to visit, Edward felt better having Bella under the eye of his sister, even though Jacob wasn't a mythical creature yet. I didn't mind the visits, Jacob was funny and always happy to see me, and a good friend.

Edward grinned and ran, vampire-style, downstairs.

"C'mon!" his impatient voice sounded from the lower floor.

With a sigh, I followed, slower than I would normally. It was fun to tease vampires.

"Have fun." Edward said sarcastically as I hopped out of his Volvo in front of Bella's house. The curtains twitched and Bella watched the car drive away wistfully from the window before she let me in.

"Hi Bella, Hi Jacob." I called, walking into the kitchen. "What're we…oh."

Someone else was leaning against the cupboard next to Jacob. He had the same brown skin and inky black hair. The new boy was also tall, though not as tall as Jacob, and his hair was not as long, stopping only at his chin. His face was thin, his smile not as open as his friend's. I blinked quickly, disconcerted. Which of the La Push boys was this?

"Katherine! Someone I want you to meet, this is my friend Embry Call."

A shy smile lifted the corners of Embry's mouth as he waved. "Hey Katherine."

"Hi, nice to meet you." I nodded at him. Embry was one of Jacob's best friends.

I grinned and leaned against the counters. I had always liked the La Push characters.

Billy and Charlie suddenly yelled indignantly at the television in the front room, cutting off the spell of silence and Jacob laughed loudly at them.

"Bet I can beat you in Crazy Eights." Jacob challenged me, grabbing the cards.

"Yeah right! I am the _queen_ of crazy eights!" I laughed sitting down at the table with him.

"That's just 'cause you're crazy."

Bella delivered dinner in to Charlie and Billy, laughing at me and Jacob, but the time she came back I'd already beaten him.

"Fine." He huffed. "We'll take teams. Embry-"

"No way, man, I'm with Katherine, she beat you bad."

"Traitor." He muttered. "Okay Bella, let's give 'em a run for their money."

The four of us managed to squish ourselves around the little table, elbows bumping, knees touching.

"No, no use his one," Embry whispered, moving his arm to the back of my chair and leaning in to point out the jack of hearts. "Then you can use the queen next time."

"'Kay." I agreed, chewing my lip and placing the queen down on the top of the deck.

"Hah!" Jacob jumped up and threw his last card down. "Yes. BEAT YOU!"

Even Bella, who rarely paid attention to Jacob's antics laughed as he danced around the kitchen.

"Look what you did!" I accused Embry.

He ducked his head, shy smile starting again. "Sorry…I'll make it up to you sometime." His eyes came back up and met mine. I noticed that they were a lighter colour than Jacob's, like butterscotch, or milky coffee.

"I'll hold you to it!" I assured him, giving his shoulder a light squeeze.

A loud honk from outside made me jump up, hitting Embry with my elbow in the process. He fell backwards off of his chair and hit the floor, clutching his nose. Blood dripped from between his fingers, splattering his clothes and the floor.

"What did you _do_?" Jacob stared down at his friend, expression between horror and amusement.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-" This was just great. I wasn't usually so clumsy.

"S'okay." He clambered to the sink and leaned over so that the blood dripped onto the metal.

"I'll go-er-explain to Edward what's keeping you." Bella ran out, turning green at the sight of blood.

"What can I do?" I hurried over to Embry and ripped a wad of paper towel from the roll, and offering it to him.

The blood was almost stopped now as he wiped his face and splashed it with water from the tap.

"I didn't know you'd be so mad if we lost."

"No! It was an accident, I swear-"

I broke off when I saw he was grinning. "I'm fine Katherine, don't worry about it."

"If you're sure…"

I looked at Jacob, who was wiping up the blood on the floor and waved half-heartedly at the two boys, then made my escape, inwardly kicking myself. Jacob was laughing loudly behind me.

"Is the blood gone?" Bella asked weakly from where she was leaning against the Volvo.

"I think so."

I looked over my shoulder at the boys in the kitchen as Edward kissed her and then walked out of the house ahead of him.

"Okay, time to go. I've almost knocked someone out, which means my day's over."

Edward didn't answer; he'd slipped back into his depression. As this was his last un-scripted day with Bella, I didn't blame him.

At home, I went to my room and packed a suitcase, with my favourite clothes, shoes and of course my books depicting what would happen in the future. Twilight sat on top, a real book among notebooks, which we'd all lived through only months ago.

What would _this_ year bring?

**What do you guys think of Embry being introduced ahead of the original timeline?**


	9. Break Away

Before I went to bed that night, I sought out Esme where she was reading a novel in one of the living rooms. I needed some mother talk. I sat down beside her and tucked my feet up under myself.

"Esme, love is going to be impossible for me, isn't it?" She put down her novel immediately.

"How do you mean?" She asked.

"You can love Carlisle because you are both vampires. When you were human, you loved him but nothing could happen. Humans can love human for the same reasons. Bella can love Edward because she plans to be one of you someday and Alice has seen it happen. I don't want to be changed. I like being me for the most part." I shook my head, frustrated. "I am the only me in the whole world. I'm not vampire, I'm not human, I don't know what I am, but I do know that it means I will not be able to find anyone to love me completely. I will never be able to be honest with them."

Esme's hand had moved to stroke my hair sometime during my explanation and now I leaned over so that I could tuck myself against her, her arms around me.

"I don't know how or when but I do believe that someday you will find someone who will love you with everything he has. When that happens, it might be scary but I was you to dive for it, no questions asked. Love is one of the great mysteries of the universe, and you don't want to hold yourself back from it because you're different. You'll find someone who you can tell your whole story. Someday." We sat like that for a long time, and though my eyes were dry, I was impossibly sad.

"It's so hard to believe that. I don't feel like me anymore. It's harder than I imagined; my body never changing. I'm scared that if I have to stay here for the rest of my life, I won't be able to get married or have children someday. I don't know what I can or can't do anymore."

Esme leaned her head against mine. "That is something that we can sympathize with dear, but having you around seeing you so vibrant and alive makes it difficult for me to believe that it is impossible. You aren't like us, Katherine. You breathe, you bleed, you trip and fall, you cry. You are living even if you aren't aging. Nothing can predict what will happen with you and your life. Don't give up hope."

In the morning, I dragged myself out of bed and all through school. This was to be my last day here for a long time. I felt a tiny prickle of panic, I didn't know what was to happen on the Cullen side of things, only Bella's. It scared me. I'd grown used to knowing the future, the dangers and the precautions to take, but tomorrow I'd be delving into the ultimate unknown.

When Edward brought Bella home that night for her party, I was surprised to see him look genuinely happy. A real smile was on his face, eyes lighting up and glowing. I couldn't figure out what could make him as happy as he was.

When Bella was led to the table of gifts, I fled, not wanting to see calm, strategic Jasper slip into a more conventional kind of vampire.

It didn't take long for the commotion to die down. I sat at the top of the stairs, watching Alice and Esme fly past, holding their breath. I eventually came down to wish Bella a happy birthday before she left. I wasn't that sad to know I wouldn't see her for many months, we'd never been extremely close. I would miss the card games with Jacob and the more casul atmosphere of Bella's house but Bella had never taken to me like she had to the others.

I watched Edward drive away with her from upstairs.

The next morning, Edward shook me awake, hands icy to my skin.

"Mrm" I mumbled groggily into my pillow. "Go 'way"

"Wake up." He rolled his eyes and flashed to the door. "Family meeting downstairs. Crucial."

When he'd left, I got out of bed and grumbled my way into the closet, grabbing the first things that looked normal for school and putting them on. I shuffled downstairs yawning and stretching.

Downstairs was silent, everyone around the dining room table.

"Whuz goin' on?"

"Edward had an idea." Carlisle hesitated. "And he wants to know your input."

I went to the stove and scooped up some of the eggs that someone had made. I added some pieces of fruit before trying to cram myself into the space between Emmett and Alice. Emmett was purposely taking up the most amount of space he possibly could, grinning impishly. I glared, then turned to Edward who sat with Rosalie and Jasper across from me.

"What was the idea?" I began shovelling food in my mouth.

"Well I was thinking all night about how we have to go away today and I realized that we don't _all_ have to go."

"Um, yeah we- oh." I blew out a breath and a little bit of egg. "You want me to stay."

Everyone was looking closely for my reaction so I kept my face blank. "Do you think that would keep the storyline intact?"

"I just thought since you know the events that must happen here, you could stay and make sure it all goes as planned."

"Shouldn't we just let things happen naturally?" I wondered out loud.

"We don't know what we've knocked out of balance with the changes in the story from last year. If you could just…supervise Bella, it would ease my mind."

This would definitely be more exciting than moving away, but also much more complicated. I had no car, no money to call my own and I wasn't as used to the fake identity I had to uphold as th Cullens were. I would do my best. "Will I stay here?"

"No, we've rented an apartment within walking distance from school. Bella can't know we didn't really leave. We thought it'd be best if she thought we'd deserted you too, since you're not a vampire." Jasper spoke up.

"Oh okay."

"So you want to do this?" Edward scrutinized my face.

"Yeah. I'll do more good here than with you, the story stays with Bella, so I should too."

"Okay then. You and I have to go to school then. Everyone will take care of your possessions and move them to the apartment."

Alice flew at me from the side and hugged me, gently for a vampire, tightly for a human. "I'll miss you."

"We'll all miss you." Esme added. They all crowded around me, Esme patting my hair, Jasper touching my leg, even Rosalie was looking a little sad.

"I'll miss you too." My voice sounded strangled as I looked around at my foster family.

The goodbyes were long that morning, I got multiple chilling hugs from everyone. Esme looked torn between worry and fear like she was really leaving one of her daughters. Her loving heart was big enough to include me completely in her family and I knew she loved me.

"Don't worry, I'll be perfectly fine." I assured her.

In Edward's Volvo, I twisted in the seat to look back at the house. I had to believe that everything would go as planned and that I would see this house again. I was determined to do everything in my power to make it so.

The new apartment, _my_ new apartment was small and cozy, four tiny rooms, a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room. My things were set up, my clothes in the closet, my purse hanging on the hook by the door. That familiar thing, the black and white checkered messenger bag, covered with colourful pins, resting against the strange wall made me a little dizzy. The kitchen stocked with my favourite foods like ravioli and salads, as well as four tubs of ice cream, compliments of Emmett by the looks of it. The flavour was _grizzly_ tracks. The thing that made my jaw drop was the sleek sound system in the living room, next to the T.V.

"Oh! That's awesome!" I ran over to it, pushing the on button and watching everything light up.

"Thought you'd like that. Picked it out myself.

"You didn't have to do this Edward." I ran my fingers over the glossy knobs and turned to smile at him. "But on the other hand I do love presents."

His expression was calculating as he eyed me. "Are you sure you want to stay?"

"I told you I did, didn't I?"

"If I can find a way for us to keep in touch without anyone noticing, I'll do it."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

After he left, I took the ice cream out of the freezer and sat around feeling sorry for myself for a while. This was the right thing to do, and I knew that. I just had to wallow for a while before I straightened myself up and acted like the mature adult I was. Other people had it a lot harder than I did. For instance, I knew Edward was standing in the forest right now, telling her-lying-that he didn't love her anymore. Bella's heart was being broken and from now on I had to look at her and lie every day. I was not going to feel like a very good friend to her.

When it was dark out, Charlie called me, completely crazed, asking if I'd seen Bella. Edward must've left my new number with him somehow.

"She's gone, I don't know where she is!"

"Why don't you get some of the Quileute boys down here looking?" I suggested, trying hard to make my voice sound worried.

"Yes…that would…yes."

The phone clicked and the line went dead. Bella was in her own world of misery right now, she was safe, on the outside at least. On the inside she was in pain, but nothing could help her now except for Jacob when the time came.

When I was sure every Cullen was gone, factoring in that I didn't know where they were headed and vampire speed, I walked down to the C.D store and bought a stack of CDs, like the ones I'd had in my world. Not the same artists of course, because they didn't exist if Stephanie Meyer hadn't specifically mentioned them. I smiled wryly at a display of Muse CD's at the very front of the store. I grabbed a few CDs that looked promising and almost as an afterthought I grabbed a classical C.D and bought it too, using one of the many 100 dollars bills I'd found stuffed in my purse, compliments of the Cullens. Once I was back at the apartment, I tried out the sound system by popping in the Classical C.D and I was soon falling asleep, floating away on the calming notes.

Bella didn't return to school for a week, but when she did, I was shocked at her already altered appearance. Her skin was pale grey, eyes huge and hair matted like she had stayed in one spot all week, never moving, never eating. I reminded myself that this was probably exactly what had happened.

When her eyes spotted me, she ran over, half tripping over herself in her eagerness to prove it was really me. Her eyes lit up when she finally reached me. She hugged me, and it was like she was clinging to a life raft. I didn't want to tell her that the one thing that could save her had just sprung a leak.

"You've come back"

"No. I never left."

"What do you mean?"

"They left me behind. They…they didn't want me." I lied.

Her face tightened, then her whole body sagged in frightening disappointment, the light in her eyes dying like a candle being snuffed out. We turned and walked to our Science building and in the silence, I could almost hear her heart break, ripping out of her chest and leaving a gaping hole. The descriptions of the author had not been exaggerated. Bella was horrible to watch.

**Review please! The next chapters are when things start to pick up for Katherine and I want to make sure there are people actually reading this before I post them.**


	10. Once Again

Like the book, the time went by emptily and because of my Cullen status, I had no friends to pass the time with. I had stopped wearing the makeup that Alice had painstakingly applied during the first few months of my life here. I had never learned to apply it with any degree of expertise and I was uncomfortable wearing it. I liked the way I looked naturally. Even with this difference the people at school still avoided me, and Bella and I sat alone at lunch. I was okay with the arrangement. I didn't want to make too many friends only to ignore them later.

My apartment life was one I enjoyed, it allowed me to have a certain degree of independence, something that I needed. I was just too bad that I had no one to share it with.

The phone rang one morning as I shuffled around the kitchen, looking for a clean glass.

"Hello?"

"Katherine?" the husky voice was familiar.

"Jacob?"

"Yeah, it's me. I heard the Cullens…left you…"

"How'd you get my number?"

"I asked Charlie if Bella had it. Is…is she still broken up about-"

"Yes." I replied shortly.

"I just wanted to know…she wouldn't answer my calls."

"Yeah, she's pretty depressed." What an understatement.

"Why don't you bring her up to La Push? I could maybe help her."

"I don't think right now is a good time. Maybe after a few weeks…" I hedged.

I hung up the phone soon after that and rubbed my eyes. Jacob's worry for Bella was sweet and honest and it was hard to lie to him.

The constant loneliness was getting to me. Because I was still considered a Cullen, the other students at school avoided me. For the first month, they whispered about me in the halls but even that died off eventually. The only person I had contact with was Bella and the extent of our socializing was that we sat together at lunch. We didn't speak, or even look at each other, though I tried. She almost never responded and even when she did, it was only to stare vacantly at me. None of the other students approached me and I didn't dare talk to them. I found myself talking to cashiers at the grocery store for much longer than was necessary and then I had to remind myself to move on, go home, watch another movie while I did my homework. I always finished quickly as the work was several grades below what I had been used to. Then the hours stretched ahead of me, empty.

Jacob continued to call, getting increasingly desperate and defeated. I didn't know what to say to assure him of Bella's condition without lying. He was trying to convince me to visit as well, most likely to get more information about Bella. I continued to invent excuses and while at first I was adamant that I couldn't see him, after some time I started to waver. I wanted the friendship, I missed Jacob. My excuses started to get weaker and weaker until one day I finally gave up. I was going to go insane if I didn't have the chance to have an actual conversation with someone soon and Jacob was the safest person.

In was the end of November when I gave in. I hadn't even made it halfway through Bella's depression; she wouldn't start to resurface until January.

I had purchased one thing of note with the money the Cullens had left me; a car. I had made sure it was used and cheap but I also made sure it was something I would enjoy driving. The little 2003 Toyota Yaris was painted a garish orange which had made it hard for the dealership to sell. I liked the colour. It made it easy to find in the school parking lot. Driving into La Push, I was excited. The radio was on, the moist breeze blew my hair around through the open window and my fingers tapped on the steering wheel. I hadn't realized how starved for company I had gotten. I glanced down at the directions I had scribbled down from my phone conversation with Jacob earlier this morning and made a turn. It was actually a good thing I was visiting him, I managed to convince myself. This way I could make sure he remained interested in Bella and her well-being. I found his house alright and jumped out of the car to knock on the door. He answered with a smile.

"Hey, long time no see!"

"Yeah…sorry about that, but I am definitely here now."

He motioned me inside and we walked into the kitchen. Billy Black was sitting in his wheelchair by the window, tying a fishing lure and watching me carefully. I saw his shoulders relax and his eyes widen slightly in surprise and relief. No doubt he had heard from others that I wasn't like the rest of the Cullens. I wouldn't be surprised if I had been watched when I first joined the family. I knew that was the only reason I was here in La Push. He could see for himself that I was not a vampire. Jacob excused himself for a moment and I waited until I heard the bathroom door close firmly before I spoke.

"I'm not one of them."

Billy nodded slowly. "I can see that for myself. Why were you with them?"

"Mutual convenience." I assured him. "I have never been and will never be a vampire though, Billy. I hope that means that I am welcome here. I'll need to speak to you again, there is more you have to know."

He grunted once. "We'll see for now."

I nodded. It was more than I had expected. Jacob returned and we trooped into the living room.

"So how is she?" he asked, his voice low. I sat down on the worn sofa, stalling as I found a comfortable spot before I answered.

"Not good, Jake. She'll need us soon, but for now I think she needs to mourn by herself."

"Mourn." He muttered. "Is that what love is like? When they leave, it's like dying?"

"I've never been in love." I admitted. "I don't think it was a normal relationship anyway, Jacob."

I felt guilty finally admitting my opinion and I shifted in my place. Love wasn't supposed to be the way Edward and Bella experienced it. They wouldn't be able to feel love until Bella was turned into a vampire, and they would finally be equals. That wouldn't be for another year.

I skipped school on Friday. I knew I could easily catch up and wouldn't be missed. I drove to La Push knowing that Jacob would be in school. I needed to talk to Billy. . The worry that I had been fighting with this week had taken its toll. Stephanie Meyer explained Bella's pain as a gaping hole, but mine was the opposite. I felt too full, as if I was teetering on the edge of an explosion, a disaster that could happen any minute. I was simply feeling too much.

I glanced down at the Twilight book sitting innocently in the passenger seat. I'd made a decision not to show them everything. The pack's reactions relied on instincts and if they knew everything, they wouldn't react in the same way in the events to come. Tucked inside was a list of names of the next Quileute boys to turn into wolves. I deliberated long and hard and ultimately left Leah's name off of the list. Her phasing was a huge surprise and must remain so. I avoided thinking of what that meant for the Clearwater family. This was how it was meant to be.

I parked outside of the Black residence and jogged up to the door. Billy met me there, looking surprised.

"Jake's in school, Katherine."

"I came to talk to you, Billy."

"Okay." He waited, clearly not about to let him into the house. I sighed and passed him the Twilight book.

"I'm not a vampire, but I don't belong to this world either. I was born in Nova Scotia in 1991. I had a normal life. When I was in high school, I encountered a series of books that drew my attention; The Twilight series." I gestured to the novel he now held open in his wide hands. "In my first year of university, I was reading a particular scene in the books and somehow-don't ask me how-I fell into it."

Billy shark black eyes flicked from the book to me suspiciously. "That's impossible."

"I know. Believe me, I know but somehow it happened and here I am. Before March, the Cullens, Bella, you and your son were all just characters in a book to me. Now you're real living breathing people and I am living alongside you. I don't know why I am here or how but I want to be honest with you and do everything I can to help the story move along. I came to you knowing you are the unofficial chief."

"Not anymore" he grunted. "Wait here." He wheeled himself inside and I could hear the lock sliding closed on the door. A few minutes later cars began to pull up to the house. My heart was thumping madly in my chest. I was going to be hauled away to the police station or a mental institution, wasn't I? I felt sick to my stomach until the door opened behind me again and Billy poked his head out.

"Harry, Quil, Sam. Come in. We've got ourselves a situation here."

I was not allowed inside. I expected and understood that. I sat on the sagging porch patiently, maybe if they saw that I had stayed instead of running it would add to my credibility. The rain started to fall harder and I lifted my face to it. I had always enjoyed the rain and my jacket was warm enough that I wasn't uncomfortable being stuck outside in it. I watched the drops as they fell and told myself that somehow it was going to be okay. I knew I was doing the right thing.

This lasted until the creak of the door startled me out of my stupor. I jumped to my feet, whirling around. Sam Uley stood in the doorway, eying me.

"Embry Call is not Quileute. He can't phase." He said bluntly.

I swallowed nervously and yet when I spoke, my voice was clear and strong. "He is half Quileute. The identity of the father is unknown by everyone except for Embry's mother, but he is Quileute. This allows for him to phase."

I could see that this had already occurred to him and he merely nodded.

"I know this is completely crazy but I can prove myself. Who is in your pack right now? If you tell me this, I can tell you who the next wolf to phase will be."

He gave me a slow appraising stare before answering. "Just me and Jared."

"Paul Lahote will be the next wolf." I answered confidently. Then something dawned on me. "Wait, he hasn't phased yet? Hasn't Emily's accident happened yet? I know he was there for that…" I looked at him in confusion and to my surprise, he had a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"You know things that no one else could possibly know." He shook his head. "Yes, Paul has already phased."

"I supposed I should have expected a test." I frowned. "The next wolf will be Embry Call then."

"We know that things happen that are out of the ordinary." He started. "We aren't accustomed to a story such as yours, but there is no way that you would know these things if you weren't telling the truth. There are only a few select people who know of Emily's accident and you would have never been able to get close enough to them to learn of it without notice." He paused for a moment before continuing. "We ask that you not speak to anyone about this. I know that you are friends with Jacob, but you can't tell him anything."

I nodded, suddenly dry-mouthed. "I wasn't planning on it. I don't want to hurt anyone. Is there anything else than I can do to make it easier?"

He shook his head. "Go home. Don't leave the area. You are welcome to visit La Push as often as you were before so as not to arouse suspicion."

I nodded and he turned to go back inside.

"Sam." I called. The rain fell in sheets between us and I saw suddenly that though he was a man of imposing figure, he wasn't much older than I was. "I'm sorry."

He nodded slightly and left me outside. A few minutes passed before I was able to walk to my car and start the engine.


	11. A Start

"You don't mind if my friends come over today, do you?" Jacob asked me as we walked from my car to his shed later that afternoon.

"Nah." I said truthfully. Jacob set down to work on his car immediately. I wandered over to his toolbox and rummaged through absentmindedly.

"You know one of them anyways" he continued. "Embry; you almost broke his nose?" he grinned over at me.

I waved the wrench at him threateningly. "It was an accident!"

"Sure, sure." He snorted.

Soon, into the garage strolled two young men with a casual manner that suggested they were comfortable in the shed, a reaction born of familiarity. Both of them were tall. One had very short dark hair and a wide smile, his T shirt tight over his muscular torso. The other boy was very familiar, the shy smile endearing.

Quil and Embry had arrived.

Quil's eyes were focused on me, a smile spreading. Embry grinned at us.

"Hey Katherine."

Quil's head whipped around and he pinned Embry with an accusing stare. "You _know_ her?"

"Yeah, I met her in Forks with Jake."

"Where was _I_?"

"Out with that chick from our Math Class."

"Oh yeah." Quil turned from Embry and grinned. "Good times." He held out a hand to me, stepping forward to introduce himself. "I'm Quil Ateara." His grip was very firm.

"Katherine." I introduced myself, grinning. I turned to Embry with a slight grimace. "How's the nose holding up?"

"In perfect working order, thanks, but I do have an extreme fear of elbows now."

I laughed. "Sorry about that." I sincerely liked Embry, I could talk easily with him, since he was a minor character in the narrow scheme of things. I didn't have to constantly wonder what I was supposed to say or how it could affect future events. It was a relaxing change.

"So will you be coming up to La Push a lot?"

"Yeah, I love it here. Forks hasn't been very welcoming since the Cullens left."

"I'm surprised they let you in here at all." Quil said, hoisting himself up to sit on a counter. He raised his hands in front of his face to mimic claws. "The Cullens don't come here."

"Well they left me, that's probably why I'm allowed. Booted out of the family." I laughed.

Jacob narrowed his eyes at me. "How can you be so casual about it? Bella is torn up because her boyfriend left, but they were your family and you can laugh."

I shrugged. "It was a peaceful parting, and I wasn't in love with any of them I suppose. I'm old enough to live on my own now and it suits me."

"How old are you, exactly?" Quil demanded. "You don't look any older than us!"

"I'm nineteen." I said, immediately regretting it. All of my phony records said I was seventeen now, but these guys didn't need to know that. Speaking technically, I was twenty as my birthday had been over the summer but as I had stopped aging the moment I fell into this world, I was physically nineteen. It was hard to remember which age was the right one.

Quil hissed. "Ancient."

I made a half-hearted swipe at him. "Am not."

When I visited La Push, I avoided the garage as much as I could. That was Bella and Jacob's place and I wanted him to associate it with her instead of me. Instead, we often rounded up Embry and Quil and went exploring. I found myself meshing so easily with Jacob's best friends. Quil was a ball of energy and he used that energy for flirting, cracking jokes and thinking up stunts that he could perform. He reminded me of a younger brother and I treated him as such. He good-naturedly accepted it. Embry was quieter with a more self-deprecating humor. I enjoyed his company and along with Quil's energy, and Jacob's leadership and charisma, they made quite the trio.

I received a call from Sam Uley one day, with an invitation to a council meeting. I accepted. It was obvious that declining was out of the question.

The drive to La Push was too short, my heart thrumming in my chest like a hummingbird's. I was always nervous when I revealed my story. I didn't like being strange especially since I myself didn't understand the specifics. I parked in my usual place outside Billy's house and smoothed down my blouse. I didn't know what to expect.

Billy met me at the door and escorted me into the living room where Sam, and two other young men sat together on the sagging sofa. I assumed them to be Jared and Paul. On the other side of the room sat two older men who I guessed to be Old Quil and Harry Clearwater. My assumptions were proven correct when the introductions were made.

There was no beating around the bush; Billy addressed me almost right away. "As a people, we know that magic exists in the most commonplace situations and this is anything but common place. Since you knew that Paul here had already phased, this is undeniable proof that you know more about us than is possible for someone on the outside. We also believe that you mean to help."

"Yes, I really do."

Billy looked to Sam, who stood and faced me. "You will be dealing with me primarily. The council will be informed of everything but they have other problems to attend to. You are useful to the pack, and as Alpha I welcome you."

My heart still beating fast, I nodded. "Thank you." I whispered.

When the meeting was over, I was walked outside again, but by the pack this time.

"I know this is a strange situation and the council can be intimidating, but you don't have to be scared." Jared spoke to me for the first time. He had a hesitant but encouraging smile on his face and he gestured to my car. "Wanna drive us over to Emily's? You should probably meet her. Her place is where we usually are."

"Yeah sure. I'd love to meet Emily." I looked to Sam but to my surprise he didn't look like he wished to keep me away from his girlfriend. Instead, he smiled at me and I was taken aback. Sam had always been painted as a serious-faced stern man. Yet I had hardly known him for a week and here he was smiling. I had to learn not to judge people based on Bella's reactions to them. It seemed we viewed people very differently. As the boys directed me to Emily's, I felt a faint stirring of something inside. I glanced back at Jared and Paul shoving each other in the backseat and at Sam sitting quietly beside me and grinned quietly to myself. These boys were going to be friends, along with Jacob, Quil and Embry. I couldn't wait.


	12. Like the Sun

The days passed much more quickly now that I had friends in La Push. I spent most of my time with Jacob, Quil and Embry but some afternoons I dedicated to hanging out at Emily's. If I could help with anything, I wanted to be available. Emily and I forged a tight bond very quickly. We both loved to make things whether it be cooking or making crafts. I had never been able to sing or draw but making practical things with my hands was a small talent I possessed. Emily was teaching me how to nurture it.

I kept an eye on the dates and on the 17th of January, I paid a visit to Bella. Bella's movie night with Jessica had been yesterday. I knew because I had taken to asking Charlie for updates on Bella's situation. While in Port Angeles, she must've realized that her exhausted and heartbroken mind showed her images of Edward when she put herself in danger. She must've heard Edward's silky voice in her head, her own unconscious mind talking to her, telling her that Edward loved her, even though he'd said he didn't.

On my way out the door to rouse Bella from her mindless depression, I grabbed my jacket. It couldn't hurt to nudge Bella along to the motorcyles, could it?

"C'mon, come for a drive with me, it'll do you good." I coaxed, pulling on Bella's arm she had lost weight as of late, I noticed, and she eyes were tired. Yet she followed me willingly. I knew I reminded her of Edward, making me both her favourite and least favourite person. Once I got Bella into her truck, I convinced her to take the long way on to Russell Avenue, where a homemade FOR SALE sign and some beat-up motorcycles were waiting.

I didn't even have to point them out, Bella surfaced from her zombie-state long enough to bring her ancient truck to a clunky stop and stare, then fumbled with her seat belt to step outside clumsily. "I'm going to go ask about those." She mumbled.

Minutes later, they were in the back of the truck and we were on our way to La Push to see our favourite mechanic. I was still playing my role of innocent abandoned orphan quite well, and I absolutely hated myself for it. It went against my nature to hurt someone, whether it was physically or emotionally like I was doing with Bella at the moment. People often thought my caring manner was fake, which meant that I didn't have a lot of friends but I was actually a genuinely nice person. It was hard for me to be cruel.

I looked out of the windows as we drove. It was storming of course, rain pouring down like it always did in Forks, the windshield wipers going full-speed, which in Bella's truck, meant really, _really_ slow.

We eventually made it to the little red house where Billy and Jacob Black lived. The noise of the truck made Jacob come running out to look, disbelief all over his face. I guess he hadn't thought I'd get Bella to him so fast.

"Bella?!" he called, running over to us. He was smiling so wide that his eyes were almost crinkled closed. "And Katherine! Wow guys, wasn't expecting you."

"What're you doing right now?" I asked.

"I was just going to go work on my car, wanna come?"

"Actually Jake, we came with a plan. Know anything about motorcycles?" Bella asked. When she looked at Jacob, I saw a real smile on her face, which made _me_ smile. It had been so long since her face had shown any emotion other than depression. She still looked quite horrible and delicate, but she looked half happy now too. It was a good sign that she remembered how to smile.

"Embry-you remember him? - He has a dirt bike; we work on it together sometimes. Why?"

"Look in the truck."

He peeked and let out a delighted whistle, running a brown hand over the dirty metal.

"Can you fix them?" Bella anxiously asked.

"A challenge! I like it, let's get them in the garage."

Bella wandered on ahead, looking around with wide eyes like a baby deer, still wobbly and behind her back, Jake and I exchanged enthusiastic high fives.

In less than five minutes, Bella and I were watching our friend dismantle the bikes with surprising agility and obvious enjoyment.

"You won't tell Charlie, right?" Bella asked anxiously, sitting in the front seat of the almost finished Volkswagen. I stood back against a wall of the shed, surveying the scene with a little glow of hope. This was going perfectly, I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that Embry and Quil were going to show up at any moment. All of the La Push boys were cut of a similar cloth, and yet Bella always seemed drawn to Jacob specifically.

"Jacob?" Someone shouted. Bella and Jacob looked up in confusion.

"Jake, are you out there?"

"Yeah!" Jacob shouted.

Embry and Quil strolled into the shed.

"Man, Jake. Every time we visit you have a new girl over." Quil commented. He introduced himself to Bella, smiling charmingly while I rolled my eyes. Embry took his usual place next to me and I dug a beaten-up looking pack of cards out of a drawer.

"So anyway, Bella brought these motorcycles down and I'm gunna fix them up." Jacob said. This comment seemed to be even more exciting than the fact that Jacob had two girls with him and Quil sidled over for a closer look.

"Girls and automotives, that's Quil for you," Embry said in my ear. I turned, grinning up at him.

"Funny, I thought you had a dirt bike. Aren't girls and automotives your first priorities too?" I teased.

"I won't deny it." He laughed.

I sincerely liked Embry, I could talk easily with him, since he was a minor character. I didn't have to constantly wonder what I was supposed to say or how it could affect future events. It was a relaxing change.

I challenged him to a game of cards while the other boys talked engines and Bella looked on with a glimmer of happiness. When we finished, I could tell Embry was gearing himself up to say something and I nudged him.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing…hey Quil and I were thinking of going to a movie, wanna come with?"

"Sure, when?"

"We're not sure yet. You could just, uh, give me your number and I can let you know."

I fished a blue marker out of my purse and wrote my number on his skin quickly. "There." We grinned at each other for a minute before I turned to Bella. "Hey, shouldn't we be going?"

"Right." She got to her feet.

"D'you think you'll be coming back?" Jacob asked her.

"Sure, how 'bout tomorrow?"

I watched Jacob's eager face and sighed. Stephanie Meyer's books were so much more complicated when the people were real and right in front of you. I'd thought that Jacob had liked Bella because she was the only one who'd paid attention to him, laughed at his jokes, and that fact that she was pretty couldn't hurt. However, if that were true, wouldn't Jake be drawn to me as well? I paid more attention to him than Bella had when Edward was around. It wasn't that I was lacking in any way, it was deeper, the connection that ran between Jacob and Bella was strong already and I understood what soulmates looked like. If there was no Edward or vampires at all Bella and Jacob _would_ be together and they would be happy, but that wasn't the reality. There were vampires, and it would be a long time before either of them were truly happy again.

As they argued about money and the cost of 'riding' lessons, Quil shot an impish look at Embry, mouthing something while Embry snorted. Jacob's hand whipped out and smacked Quil on the back of the head. I smothered a laugh with difficulty.

"That's it, get out." Jacob muttered.

No, we're leaving, you stay." I laughed. "Bye guys." I walked outside with Bella, listening intently.

"Wooo Jake!" Quil and Embry cheered loudly. I heard a smack and two ouches and then I laughed out loud for the first time in a long time. It felt good. As we drove out of La Push, the brightness in Bella's face flickered and died, like a blown out candle. I reminded myself for the thousandth time that I was doing the right thing by lying to her. It was my constant worry. It wasn't for much longer, I consoled myself with difficulty. When I got home, the phone was ringing and I ran to catch it.

"Hello?" I answered breathlessly.

"Hi. I'm free." Embry's quiet voice greeted me.

"Embry, I just _left_ La Push!"

"True." He agreed. "How 'bout tomorrow?"

"Um…I guess I could catch a ride up with Bella again, saves on gas."

"Great. Meet you at Jake's and we can decide when we wanna catch that movie."

"Sound's interesting. Quil's funny, I like him."

"What about me?" he protested.

"I like you too. You two definitely brightened up my day, as always. And Bella's too, if I'm not mistaken."

"She looks…bad."

"She is. But Jake'll help her."

"You sound like it's already a done deal."

I cast my thoughts around for a reasonable excuse for my confidence.

"You thought Bella looked bad in the garage today? She looks worse when she's away from Jake. He'll help her; he's healthy for her, like medicine."

"Or the sun." he offered. "All natural."

I smiled in spite of myself. "Yeah, exactly. Like the sun."


	13. Without Magic

The ride to La Push was shorter the next day; Bella felt more sure of herself and we arrived at Jacob's quickly. The three boys were already waiting outside.

"Hey Quil, hey Embry!" I cried, hopping out of the truck. Quil slung an arm around my shoulders enthusiastically. "Ready for the E-Q tour, shortie? Jacob's not allowed."

"You need to get some _IQ_." Embry casually told his friend.

"You're just jealous."

"Of what?"

"I don't see you with your arm around a girl."

This was why I liked guys as friends more than girls. They were more easygoing, with no trace of cattiness or true jealousy.

"You're not staying?" Bella asked shakily, looking at me.

"No, I thought I'd go look around La Push with Embry and Quil." I explained gently. "I will be back later though." I assured her. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay."

"Where're we going today?" I asked as Jake led Bella away, chattering.

"Walking around." Embry shrugged non committingly.

"Lead the way then."

La Push was extremely tiny, with not even a mall. It reminded me of my hometown.

"So about those pick up lines you need practice with." I said to Quil, grinning. "Ever hear the library card one?"

"No, tell me." He demanded

I stopped walking, folding my arms across my chest like a tough guy and smirked convincingly. "I've got my library card right here, and I'm checkin' you _out_."

Embry and Quil howled with laughter, clutching their stomachs. I'd always been a good actress.

"Wait, wait." Quil gasped, wiping tears from his eyes. "What about: Are you from Tennessee, cuz you're the only ten _I _see."

Embry groaned and I giggled, my lips stretched in a wide smile even as I scoffed.

"Heard that one already Quil, gotta be more creative. How 'bout: Slow down sugar, I'm a diabetic." I plucked one out of my memory.

We continued down the main road, laughing insanely and trading pick up lines back and forth.

The rest of the day was spent at the beach, and Quil's house. We talked about things other than cheesy pick up lines, surprisingly. As always, it was easy to talk to them and I had to constantly remind myself not to slip up.

Quil didn't really care about school but since I was a year ahead of him, I gave him tips that had helped me when I was in grade eleven. Embry was a good student and he told me that he'd like to maybe attend classes somewhere after high school for architecture or mechanic work.

To tease me they took turns speaking in rough Spanish and Quileute, shocked that I couldn't understand even basic terms, that they claimed 'everybody' knew.

"I took French at my old school." I finally admitted. "I lived in Canada, on the east coast."

"Whoa. Long ways away."

"Yeah." It seemed so long ago that I'd lived in Nova Scotia and dreamed of travelling far away with my friends, making stops in places like New York and California before flying to Europe. I knew that I would make a home somewhere and I would always come back to it. I imagined that my home would be in Nova Scotia where I could bring back all my new memories to live with the old ones.

This had to be home now.

We met up with Bella at the end of the day in Jacob's garage again, but she didn't look like she was ready to go yet.

I wandered outside again, away from the noise and the sharp metallic smell of rust and hand tools. Embry followed me and together we looked up at the sky. He fidgeted nervously with the hem of his shirt and I finally asked him what was wrong.

"Quil and I were never planning on going to a movie. I just wanted your number. I just…I really l-like you." He stuttered, looking shy and nervous, a combination I was used to feeling myself.

Embry…liked me? How was that even possible? We hadn't known each other for very long at all. Even setting that aside, he was beautiful, not the ethereal beauty of the Cullens, but a human beauty that was almost as intimidating because it was attainable. Someday he would fit easily under the category of tall, dark and handsome, someone's Prince Charming, and I would always be excruciatingly average. I always had been, and though I was happy with it, what could possibly change?

I stood gaping at my friend, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. My heart was beating faster than ever, my palms clammy and my spine tingly. My thoughts were jumping around from panic at the thought of what a big change this was in the storyline, to a strong sense of flattery and joy, to a kind of denial that this could ever happen.

Slowly, I closed my mouth, attempting to compose my face into a natural-looking expression. I touched Embry's arm lightly, shyly, shocked to feel the high temperature. It wouldn't be long now until he joined Sam.

"I like you too." I finally said. It was true. Sometimes you couldn't help how long it will take for attraction to set in and this was one of those times. I remembered Esme's advice to me. Sometimes you just had to throw yourself into something and hope for the best. I wasn't the kind of person to do that. I was more likely to spend ten minutes deciding what brand of shampoo I wanted to buy. Something was telling me to throw all caution to the wind now. I decided to be honest and yet keep the caution that was so essential.

"I would like to get to know you better." I said carefully. "I don't know if I'm ready for a relationship though."

"Okay."

I stretched on my toes and kissed him on the cheek.

He smiled, the shy boy once again as we went inside. His slipped his large hand over mine companionably as we walked past Bella, Quil and Jacob, who all gaped. Quil smirked and whispered something to Jacob and Bella rolled her eyes. It felt weird to have something this different and unexpected happen to me. Embry's hand was nice and warm against my chilled skin as we went to the back of the garage to sit against the wall. I didn't pull away.

Quil joined us two minutes later, and we waited together, talking and laughing until Bella finally realized what time it was. I didn't mind leaving late. It was fun sitting on the garage floor, listening to Jacob and Quil chattering, feeling Embry's unnatural heat as his arm pressed against mine, laughing at my friends' jokes, and watching as Bella smiled, sitting in the passenger seat of the Rabbit. It was nice. It felt normal, just five friends hanging out. At least, it was normal, until I realized that I was the supernatural one, and yet this time next year, I would be the only one close to human left out of the five. The boys would be experienced werewolves by that time; Bella would be a vampire mother, married to her vampire husband, a Cullen at last. This world was not one of stasis, change was constant and varied. The question was: did the myths and magic take away from what was potentially true and pure, like hanging out with your friends on a Sunday night, or did it not matter at all, as if as long you could spend time with loved ones, being human or werewolf or vampire didn't take away or contribute? Did the myths really matter? If there was no magic, no werewolves and vampires, Bella would never know what she was missing. She would be happy with Jacob, perhaps blushing as his eyes lingered just a bit too long on her face. In a year from now in a world without magic, Jacob and Bella would most definitely be dating, happy and in love, human love. Would everyone still be friends, or was the magic what kept them together, showing who pulled us through hard times? I could see several flaws to a world with no magic.

The Cullens would have all died long ago, and no one would know the brilliance that was Carlisle, or Esme's good heart, or Edward's deeply caring nature towards everyone he loved. The second flaw was that everyone involved with magic now, though they wouldn't suffer at the hands of it, would never discover the great things either. The Quileute boys would never turn into wolves and never imprint. Kim would continue to be ignored by Jared and maybe she'd never feel special or as much love as Jared was able to give her.

The third and possibly most obvious flaw in my thinking was that if there was no magic, I would not be here. I would be at home in my world, never knowing what went on outside of my little universe.

These thoughts whirled around in my head and when I finally surfaced, Embry's coffee brown eyes looked at me questioningly. I smiled feebly, a headache forming behind my eyes. His hand was still in mine, his skin too hot, the beginning of his magic already appearing.

Would he think of me when he was part of the pack, before he knew that I was in on everything? Maybe he would think about what could've been, or maybe he would be too overwhelmed by the cataclysmic change in his life. A thought struck me so suddenly I was breathless for a few seconds. What if, when he learned the Cullens' secret, he hated me? What if he was disgusted that I'd accepted them for who they were? I would not be able to stand seeing him or Quil look at me with loathing. I had spent the afternoon seeing them smile and those memories could not be erased. I didn't _want_ them to be erased, but, judging from the heat of his skin, soon, very soon Embry Call would be the next Quileute to join Sam Uley's "cult".

And "we" would never be.


	14. Call Me Maybe

I slept fitfully that night, tossing and turning. When I woke up, I stood in my kitchen waiting for the toast to pop and I knew that something was very off. I would bet all of the money that had been left to me by the Cullens that somewhere in La Push there was a very scared and very new werewolf running wild and terrified, his pleasant but ordinary world shattered by the realization that there was something bigger out there and he was part of it. I grabbed the toast as it popped and went to get dressed. I shrugged my jacket on and locked the apartment before I left for school.

That week went by like the first two months of my family's absence. Though I knew it was useless, I called Embry's home four times. His mother never answered and neither did he. Even with all my knowledge of the wolves, all I knew about the transformation was that it was painful and terrifying. The pain was it be expected since your whole body had to shift and change to form the new body but the panic sounded worse. The body of the wolf couldn't calm down enough to change back for a long time and even if it could, it didn't know how. I was worried for him. On Saturday night, Quil called my apartment. He was frantic, Embry had been avoiding him all week. I sympathized with him quietly.

"I don't know Quil, I haven't talked to him either." I said sadly.

"But...but you're his girlfriend now, aren't you?"

"No." I laughed, thinking of the shy exchange between Embry and I only a week before. "I'm not ready for anything like that."

"Well anyways, even if you're not, you're his friend. He hasn't called you?" Quil was too impatient today. His friend was avoiding him and he wanted to know why.

"No he hasn't. I don't think he...I saw him hanging out with Sam Uley today." I lied.

"Sam? But...but Embry doesn't even like him!"

"I'm just telling you what I saw."

"Yeah. Well, if he calls you, tell me, okay?" Quil answered glumly. "Me and Jacob are worried about him."

"Sure. Bye Quil."

I hung up the phone and bundled myself in the blanket that hung on the back of the couch, shivering. I brought it with me into the bedroom as I flung myself onto the bed. I hated lying to Quil, but I reminded myself that it wouldn't last long. Letting out a growl of frustration, I buried my face in the pillows and tried to force myself to sleep.

The next day I went to school again, as normal. I focused on small things to cheer myself up; a yellow flower, a butterfly, a gasoline rainbow in the parking lot. I was so busy trying to act normal that I almost didn't hear the phone when it rang shortly after I got home. I picked it up, thinking it was Quil again.

"No, he hasn't called yet Quil."

"Who hasn't called?" the voice was smooth and clear, ringing like a familiar bell.

"Alice!" I cried. I jumped up and down in the kitchen. "Is it really you?"

"Of course it is, silly. Now, who are you waiting for to call?" Her laugh warmed my stomach.

"A friend."

"Katherine." Her tone was knowing.

"His name is Embry Call."

"Jacob Black's friend." It was not a question, and a strange tone entered her voice.

"Yes." I tried to make my voice as steady as hers.

"Katherine..."

"Alice, it's fine, everything is under control. Now let's not talk about it right now. How's everyone doing?"

"Quite well." I immediately heard the strain in her voice as she fought to not ask questions about Embry or Jacob. "Esme and Carlisle are out in the garden, Rosalie is playing piano, Emmett and Jasper went hunting..."

Though I would've asked in any case, I caught that she failed to mention one member of the family,her voice almost betraying the hesitation she felt before speaking about him.

"And Edward?" I prodded.

"He's not well. He's left. The last time I saw him, he went into the attic and didn't come out for two weeks. The next time we went to check on him he was gone. I'm worried Katherine." I could hear her pain, and when I spoke, it was the one element that was similar in both of our tones.

"I know Alice, I am too. I wish I had the comfort of seeing him and knowing he's okay on the outside at least. I'm stuck here in good ol' Forks...I miss you all so much...but you can't come back yet, Jacob hasn't even phased." I could hear my voice become more formal, as it usually did around my older-sounding family members. I heard the creak of a door over the connection and then Alice's quickly whispered words, too fast for me to hear. And then a soft voice was in my ear, familiar and warm and beautiful.

"Hello sweetheart."

"Esme." I breathed. The sound of her voice almost made tears well in my eyes. I wished for the feel of her cool, sturdy embrace, so comforting. She was so good at mothering and she fit the role so well. I missed her.

"We all miss you, we miss our daughter and sister and friend."

"Really?" I asked, feeling the lump in my throat.

"Of course. Now stop that crying sweetheart, we'll all be together again soon."

I cleared my throat loudly and shook my head, chasing away the feelings of loneliness.

"Alice tells me you've made new friends." The question was so bizarrely normal that I laughed through my tears. It was something a human mother would ask of her human daughter, rather than a vampire adopted mother asking of her half-human daughter.

"Yes. And Esme, don't fuss, I do know what I'm doing, I promise."

"I know. I don't like it, but I trust you. Now, what are their names?"

"Quil Ateara and...and Embry Call." I said quietly.

"Embry is not a friend." she stated.

"Huh?"

"He is not your friend. He is more, isn't he?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. In another time and place I think he could be." I admitted. "I have to face reality though. He's a member of the pack now. Nothing can happen."

"I'm sorry."

"I'll be fine."

"You're a resilient little thing." She commended, her voice proud. Then another set of whispered words interrupted our conversation for barely a second.

"Katherine, sweetheart, we have to go. Emmett and Jasper found Edward up in the mountains. We have to go get him and bring him home."

"Go then, go. Give everyone my love. Especially Edward."

"I will." The phone clicked and then went dead before I hung it up. The call had lifted my spirits. They were all doing fine, even Edward was doing as well as I could've expected. Still, thinking of his him, running away to the mountains to try to escape the pain, made my chest feel tight. Esme had said they missed me. Just the thought made me a little less lonely. At that thought, I sighed and went to watch a movie. Ironically, I wanted to live in someone else's story for a while.

**Review please, dear readers!**


	15. Forever

By the end of the week, I called Emily and asked if Embry had phased back and was informed that he had. I was impatient to see him again and explain my case. The fear that he would hate me had been gnawing at the back of my mind all week and I was determined to do everything in my power to make sure it didn't happen. I drove to La Push without Bella on Sunday and drove straight past Jacob's, hoping he wouldn't recognize my little car. Emily's house wasn't far away from Jacob's. I pulled into the small driveway of the cozy-looking grey house and turned off the ignition. I was comfortable here already, I thought to myself, looking around at the carefully tended flowers and the path to the back yard where I knew vegetables grew. I checked on the plot of daisies that I had been looking after before pushing open the door and stepping inside without knocking.

"Hey Emily!" I greeted her cheerfully. She was reading a book on the window-seat in the kitchen and she looked up with a smile.

"Hey Kat. Come to ogle our newest wolf?" She winked.

"I already know Embry, he's a friend. I just came to make sure it stays that way."

I wandered around the room, absentmindedly shifting flowers in their vases and pots on the hooks overhead. Emily watched as I wandered.

"I'm scared that he'll hate me." I finally said. "I know that everyone hates the Cullens here, but they took care of me and I love them. I've been lucky so far. I know that it is a possibility that the friends I have now will treat me differently when they phase."

She managed a small, weak smile that worried me, twisted by her scars. We sat in silence until she got to her feet, heading for the refrigerator. "I'd better make something. Those boys are always hungry." She muttered, trying an apron around her waist. The door opened and Sam came back in, going to Emily at once.

Two other boys filed into the tiny room as well. One, his hair shorter, and his expression aged, was Embry. He'd changed since I'd seen him last, the last traces of boy-ish charm faded, replaced with the firmer features of a man. His shoulders, and hands were broader and stronger, his mouth fuller, the lean muscles of his torso could be seen through his T-shirt, if you were looking. Yet he was still the same person I'd given a nose-bleed, and who'd traded cheesy pick up lines with Quil and I as we walked through town. His brown eyes rested on me after a few seconds of scanning the room. His mouth went slack. I crossed the room to him. I wanted badly to hug him but didn't dare. I knew that through werewolf thought-speaking, Sam had told him everything.

Did he think I was alien? That I was a different person than who I had been when he met me? His expression was wondering, not critical at all; the look on his face was entirely unfamiliar.

"Oh my god." Embry backed outside quickly, jostling the other boys behind him. His eyes were wide with shock.

"Embry." Sam followed him and I was close behind. He sat down quickly on the ground outside and his eyes never left my face. "Go back inside." Sam commanded me. I moved away but Embry's voice stopped me.

"No. Please. Stay." He hand reached out to me beseechingly and without knowing why, I went to him and knelt on the ground beside him. His other hand reached out to touch my face and he smiled uncertainly. "Katherine. Thank God it was you."

Sam stood up. "He's imprinted."

I could hear the shocked voices of Jared and Paul behind me and a cold chill ran down my spine. Embry had imprinted, and he was looking at me like I was the most important person in the world. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. With a thump, I sat back on my butt and while I left my right hand in his, I dropped my face into my left. How could this happen?

"I'm sorry." He whispered. I looked up and shrugged.

"I know you can't choose who you imprint on. Don't be sorry. This is supposed to be a wonderful thing." I sighed. "This is all just happening way too fast. I came here thinking I'd have to convince you that I was still the same person now that you knew where I came from. Now you've imprinted on me and I just don't know if I'm ready to have someone in love with me."

"I'm not asking for you to love me back." He assured me. "I'm happy to just be here with you."

"Can we go for a walk?" I asked.

We walked down to the beach in silence, each of us adjusting to this sudden turn of events. "Can we just forget this imprinting this for a second? Sam told you why I'm here, right? You know?" I prompted, hesitantly.

He nodded slowly, a smile starting. "A couple of freaks, aren't we?" His hand tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, a strangely delicate motion that should've been too small for his hand to perform. It felt intimate. "I missed you. Why didn't you tell me this earlier? "

Relief flooded through me. He wasn't judging me, he was happy that I already knew everything.

"I knew you would know eventually." I confessed guiltily. "I thought I could deal with it." I stopped walking and hugged him finally. While I felt strange about this, he was still my friend.

Pulling back, I took the breath that I needed and looked directly at him. "I don't know if I can love you yet, Embry, but I think I can someday, and I think with the amount of time we'll be spending together someday will come sooner than even I expect right now. I can't promise anything except for my friendship for this moment, right now. I want you to know that I will do everything to make this as easy as possible for you." I wanted badly not to hurt him.

His eyes were lit up with his wide smile. "Don't be so formal, Katherine. I'm happy. I'm so glad that it's you who I'm meant for. I already like you, remember? "

I laughed shakily and it cleared the lingering bits of panic from my cluttered mind. This was okay. With the happiness shining out from his face as we walked along the beach, I could already see that I could love him. He was a good person, funny, sweet and beautiful. His unconditional love wouldn't take long to win me over. It was then, looking at his happy face that I decided to throw caution to the winds. This would make it easier and give me a sense of my own feelings, muddled as they were.

"Embry, kiss me."

"W-what?" he stammered, caught off guard.

"I want to try something, kiss me." I repeated.

The butterflies in my stomach were throwing a party as he turned to me and leaned down. Our lips met softly and I instinctively wound my arms around his neck in order to get closer. It was soft and sweet and curious, and when we pulled apart my mind was no longer cluttered with what if's and but's.

Esme had been right. Love existed for me and I had found the possibility of it sooner than I expected. I had already understood that I could never be able to love a human honestly. I needed to share all my secrets with the person I was with and I would only be able to do that with a supernatural being. Embry knew my story, he knew that vampires existed and wolves roamed and still he was able to love me.

"I can do this." I said once his eyes opened again. "I'm not sure what we are. We're more than friends. Whatever it is, I can do it."

Was this why I was in the story, because I had been Embry's imprint all along? I might've finally found the reason for my being here. My earlier theory had been that I just…fit in somehow with the characters and the world. Now I had a clue as to how perfectly I really did fit in. I sat down on the cold sand and laughed long and hard, my voice echoing along the abandoned beach. Embry flopped down beside me.

"Man, how do things like this even happen?" I said when I was done, shaking my head.

The breeze coming off the ocean was very cold, and after a few minutes I had started to shiver. Embry put his heated arm around me, drawing me closer to his side, the motion warming me instantly. I touched a curious hand shyly to his torso, soaking up the amazing warmth.

"Am I cold to you?" I asked curiously.

"Not…cold exactly, just right. A welcome change from the warmth."

I listened to the waves crashing and our combined rhythm of breathing, thinking intently.

"You're a werewolf. I'm from another world." It sounded like a Sci Fi film.

"Now we have no secrets." He whispered.

This was some sort of miracle, it had to be. Two people immersed in the same story, both not quite human, and both with an expressed interest in the other. Two people who had the possibility of _staying young forever_.

"It's like everything was made to happen like this. I don't age. We'll always be like this."

"We're forever." He said into my hair.

I hugged him, my arms around his waist. His longer limbs slipped around me automatically.

The wind blew and the waves crashed and the world moved, but we didn't, two figures in black against a grey world.

**This is one of my favorite chapters in the entire fic. I completely rewrote it to make it more mature and realistic. In the original, Katherine pretty much accepted the imprinting right away and she was really happy about it. In this version you can see her hesitation and I think it works a lot better. Review and tell me what you guys thought!**


	16. Questions

I spent more time in La Push that week than I did at home. The only time I was in Forks was for school and Embry was in school at that time as well and though it was difficult for him to be away from me for so long, he knew that education was important. I had made him promise that he would attend all his classes for as long as he could, knowing that Jacob would drop out eventually. I didn't want Embry to have to do that as well.

It was more difficult for me to rearrange my life and the distribution of my time now that I had the pleasure and the responsibility of being someone's imprint. I needed time to work out the kinks.

"I am supposed to do anything differently?" I asked, twirling a twig between my fingers awkwardly. "To make it easier for you?"

Embry laughed. "It's not a debilitating disease Katherine." He said. "It's just instinct. Don't put yourself into dangerous situations and I'm happy. Since you're mostly a sensible person I trust you wouldn't do that anyway."

I nodded and tossed the twig aside, laying back on the blanket spread on the wet grass. We were hanging out outside of Emily's house taking advantage of the nicer weather.

"I don't want you to feel pressured." Embry said. "I don't need you to do anything you do want to. If you're safe and happy then so am I."

"Right now I am most definitely both safe and happy." I tugged him down to lay next to me and smiled into his serious face. I leaned my forehead against his. "It's too fast and too strange but somehow this is working."

Slowly, I touched my lips to his until I felt heavy lidded and warm. We lay on the blanket together and watched the clouds roll in until the first drops of rain fell. Then we rolled up the blanket and ran into the house, where the lights were twinkling warmly from the windows and the smell of baking was in the air.

"Oh come on Embry, not you too." One of the boys at the table complained once we tumbled inside.

"Yeah, it's hard enough to eat with Sam and Emily making googly eyes at each other, we don't need you going all love-y too." The other one added, shoving a piece of bread into his mouth whole. Sam threw a dishcloth at him.

"And you and Kim aren't love-y, you big hypocrite?" Embry shot back over my head. At the mention of his girlfriend, Jared's skin darkened.

"Shut up" he mumbled.

The other boy, Paul, laughed loudly and grabbed the cookie jar off the counter, thrusting his arm in it up to the elbow.

"Should've let me deal with it, Jared." He grinned. "_I_ haven't imprinted on anyone."

I approached the table, enjoying the easy banter. "Oh but you _will_."

Everyone burst out laughing at the look on Paul's face.

As I pulled back onto the road, my excitement grew again. I was not in the pack, so I could talk to my old friends. Quil was the one I missed now. Jacob had Bella and Quil got pushed to the side a lot lately because of her. I was determined not to let that happen. I'd called him last night to ask if I could drop by. He'd sounded happy to hear from me and I really missed joking around with him. I knew Embry missed his best friend and he was happy that Quil would still have me at least.

Quil house wasn't far away from the store, so I drove over and bounded out of the car the second after I turned the engine off. Quil was running out of the house at soon as he saw me and he smiled from ear to ear.

"Katherine! Been avoiding me?"

I hugged him tightly and stretched up to kiss his cheek affectionately. "No, just been busy."

"Meeting Embry's new friends?" his voice grew steely.

"Something like that." I said awkwardly. "So how's Bella and Jake? I haven't seen them lately."

"I haven't either, really. Bella's over at Jake's a lot and he likes to be alone with her. Trying to get up the nerve to ask her out, I think."

"Ouch. She'll say no. She's still way too torn up about Edward."

"Don't say that to Jake. He worships the ground she walks on." Quil warned.

"Yeah."

"Kind of like Embry and you."

"Quil we don't have to-" I shook my head quickly.

"No he's still your boyfriend, right? Just because he ditched me and Jake, doesn't-" his face was growing red and he stopped mid sentence to calm himself down. "Maybe it isn't a good idea to talk about him after all."

"You're not mad at me, are you?"

"Nah. You came to see me. Embry didn't."

I ached to tell him everything but managed to keep in inside. This needed to happen.

"Let's go for a walk then. I got some new pick up lines for you."

Quil dashed back to the house to yell that he was going out and then we walked down to the beach, trading jokes back and forth.

"Embry, could I see you in wolf form?" I asked one day as we walked along the beach. I held my breath as I watched the emotions in his eyes conflict. I'd been curious about the wolves ever since I met Jacob, and now that Embry was one, I was even more so. I wanted to see how I'd react to him. I knew how they were described on paper, but most of the time, words don't do enough to describe things in real life. I knew he was grey, with dark spots, that he was as tall as a horse, like the rest of the pack was, and that he was very fast, but I wanted to see it for myself. I watched him think it over.

"Please?" I said finally.

His eyes glazed over before I realized that since he imprinted on me he would do anything I wanted him too. "If you want." I added hurriedly.

But his eyes remained cleared of conflict and he slowly nodded. "Okay, come on, there is a clearing a bit into the forest this way. Have to be careful."

He took my hand and we walked off the beach into the forest. The branches whipped around me and I dodged them as best as I could. It took almost an hour before we reached a small break in the trees.

"Wait here. I'll be right back." Embry backed away; looking in my eyes, making sure this was still what I wanted. I waved him away with a laugh to reassure him. When he was gone, I started pacing in impatience and excitement, not realizing it until I started going so fast, I was dizzy. When I stopped and put my hands to my head to stop the spinning, I looked up and he was there.

The wolf was enormous. Thick grey fur covered the animal, who had the height and length of a horse, and the bulk of a bear. I could see the muscles rolling under the skin and shivered. My first instinct was fear which I had expected. It was a normal human reaction after all, but with a shaking hand and a death breath, I reminded myself that it was Embry, and I trusted him.

We stared at each other from across the clearing while I got familiarized myself to the sheer size. There was no better way to believe that something existed than to experience it, and here I was. I had a piece of magic in front of me. It took a few seconds for me to coax my feet forward, and then some more time for them to respond, but once I started moving, I didn't stop until I was right in front of him. He leaned down until his enormous head was level with mine and I looked past the muzzle, past the fur to the eyes, which were the same coffee brown. With that realization, the fear melted away and I stepped closer to put my arms around his neck, pushing my fingers through the dense fur.

"You're so soft." I murmured.

A coughing, laughing sound erupted out of the animal's throat and I laughed with him, touching his ears curiously. I gave him a squeeze and he stood patiently letting me touch him. I looked at his tail and as I scratched the top of his head, it started to wag.

He started to laugh again and ran back through the trees faster than my eyes could catch. In a few minutes he returned, again wearing his cut off sweatpants, and holding his T shirt in his hands. I blushed for a second before I could stop it and eyed him shyly. He noticed and grinned at me. "Despite the tail, the whole wolf thing has its benefits." He admitted, shrugging his shirt back on. The magnitude of feelings I had for Embry blew everything else I had felt for anyone else completely out of the water. He was on a completely different scale, and I was having fun experiencing it.

"You took that a lot better than I thought you would." He chuckled as we started the trek out of the woods.

"I took it better than _I_ thought I would. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but you're still _you_ in the other form. That surprised me."

I had never been an outdoorsy person but I found myself genuinely enjoying the walks in the forest and on the beach. It fit our relationship, the openness of the sky and the smell of pine. We were never fake and always honest. Nature was our constant backdrop.


	17. Imperfection

I had always loved Valentine's Day. It was cheesy, and colourful. I knew that Valentine's Day wasn't supposed to be the only day of the year when you told your loved ones that you cared for them and I also knew that too many people treated it exactly that way. For those of us who were mature enough to know how the world really worked, it was nice to have one day a year when you knew everyone in the world was thinking about love. I was constantly humming cheesy love songs of the sort that most people avoided for the rest of the year. Embry had to put up with me, teasing me endlessly. In the end, his colours showed through when he gave me a homemade card and a bouquet of wildflowers he had picked himself. I knew they wouldn't last long but their colourful blooms brightened up my apartment and their perfume was sweet in the air.

As we sat quietly in the kitchen of the apartment, I finally got up the courage to ask him something I was curious about.

"Embry, what's imprinting like?"

"It's…intense." He said thoughtfully. "One minute I had all these worries and ties and the next, I was looking at you and they suddenly didn't seem to matter so much anymore. I always have the urge to protect you, I always watch out for you so you don't get hurt. I try to make sure you're always happy, I would never want you to be sad if you didn't need to be. You could ask me to do anything, and I would do it, if it made you happy."

I frowned at the last bit and he nudged me, sighing. "I can't explain it right; it doesn't sound right out loud. When I'm experiencing it, it feels natural and uncomplicated. It just is. It's like…we're tied to each other, almost physically. Imagine a big red ribbon tied to my wrist." He suggested, moving my hand to cover his wrist. His fingers trailed down my arm and up my other one to my opposite wrist. "And tied here too. It feels like we're connected like this all the time. And when you go home, it just stretches. It doesn't feel completely right until we're close again, like this."

"Woah. Intense." I said bluntly.

"Yeah, that's what I said."

We sat in silence before I sighed, a new thought occurring to me.

"This is Jacob's last worry-free week. I hope he enjoys it."

"You mean…he's gunna change? Soon?"

"Friday." I answered sadly. "Friday Night. Make sure you're there for him, okay?"

"I will. Y'know, this werewolf thingy really isn't so bad. You know what it's like with Sam and the guys. We're brothers. The only downside is keeping it from Quil and Jake, but that'll change soon. And my mom always yells at me when I'm gone all night, but it keeps her safe."

"It'll be worse for Jacob." I looked sadly at Embry. "Bella's going to break his heart. So many times."

"Can't we…stop it somehow?"

"It's part of the story. A crucial part, but I promise that it all works out in the end for everyone except the bad guys." One bad guy was already gone, James. Now his mate was hunting, hunting for a very specific piece of revenge: Bella. I hoped that Victoria wasn't going to target me. After all her whole intent was to hurt Edward as he hurt her by killing James. Bella was Edward's mate in her eyes. I was his sister and friend and therefore not her target.

I pushed that thought away. If I remembered what Victoria looked like, I knew I would see her face floating behind my closed eyes now, but truthfully I had been concentrating so hard on James, the only detail I could remember was Victoria's red hair.

Embry was seated in a chair, and I stood in front of him, bringing us face-to-face. I studied him, his beautiful copper skin soft as I stroked a finger down his cheek. My wandering fingers traveled over the strong, straight brows, around coffee-brown eyes that were lighter than the rest of the pack's, and down the straight nose. He sat, looking back at me patiently as I continued my exploration. His face, though beautiful, wasn't perfect like the faces of my vampire family. Maybe that was why I liked it so much. There was a scar over his right eyebrow that he had gotten before I'd met him, as well as a nick right above his upper lip that fascinated me. His lips curved in a smile as my fingers moved over them, noting the fullness that had so often moved over mine. I smiled a little back at him, leaning forward to plant a tiny kiss at the corner of his mouth. And finally, I pushed my fingers into the glossy black hair that covered his head, not nearly as short as Quil's but not as long as his old style.

"Y'know, I think I'm finally getting used to this." I finally commented, running a hand through the thick strands, making them stand on end comically.

"This, meaning my hair or this, meaning everything?"

I paused and then continued to play with his hair. "Everything"

"It must've been hard at first, coming into a new world." His expression changed to one of curiosity and concern.

"I thought I was in a coma at first." I smiled. "I briefly entertained the notion that the Cullens were crazy. After a while though, I just knew. This was happening. I didn't know why or how, I just knew that it was. The world of the book looks different from the inside. Once day I was a university student still arguing with friends about which characters where best, and the next I was meeting the characters I fought so hard against. I had always sided with the pack, you see."

"Of course." He smiled. "What was the book _about_ exactly?"

"Love, I guess. Supernatural love. It was told from Bella's point of view, so everything is told from her point of view, with her thoughts and feelings. Edward is her main character, and Jacob is a close second. All the fans used to side on Team Edward or Team Jacob. Like eighty percent were on Edward's side, they saw him as the perfect guy. I always thought Edward and Bella were perfect together, but Jacob was my favourite character...I thought he was too good for Bella. I'd always been a wolf girl."

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"Why didn't you like Edward? If he's the perfect guy, why didn't you like him instead of me when you came into the book?"

I frowned, "Because Edward really _is_ perfect, He's the perfect friend for me, but I prefer imperfection when it comes to relationships. Imperfection is real. It's too hard to be around perfect people all the time. Imperfection means people fall down and they get tired. It means pillows lines on your face in the morning and loose change in your pocket. Imperfection makes for more powerful memories and connections. Before you imprinted on me, I felt a connection with you because you were real. You stuttered when you were nervous, your hands were sweaty. You have all of these little imperfections that make it possible for me to start to love you."

He laughed. "I'm glad you like imperfection then. And all the rest."

"I admit, I had a crush on you when you were just a character to me, but mostly on Jacob."

"On _Jake_?" Embry scowled.

"Yes. In fact, when I first came here, I still had that crush on him." I grinned mischievously, shooting Embry a sly glance. "Most of my friends in my world didn't like him as a character at all."

"Didn't like Jacob? Everyone likes him!" He chose to ignore the other comment.

"Well let's just say he gets a little arrogant."

"Can't picture it." Embry mused.

"You will."

**Sorry for the wait, I'm posting multiple chapters now. School has been crazy and it always comes first.**


	18. Truth

I knew when I went home on Friday that it had happened, the same way I'd known about Embry. Just a feeling, a tingle along my spine as I locked my front door behind me that told me that Jacob was in pain and scared to death in the woods somewhere, his brand new pack brothers helping him as much as they could. It hurt to picture sweet, happy Jacob in wolf form, terrified and curled up in the forest. It was surprising to me that it hurt more to picture Embry within reach of Jacob's flailing claws, even if he had a set of his own.

Like I tended to do whenever I was scared or lonely, I turned on Edward's sound system and slipped the classical C.D in, listening to the soothing piano as I collapsed in the recliner, rubbing the tense muscles in my neck. Was the story getting close to the Cullens's return? I hoped so, I missed them. Imperfection would always be preferable to me, but the Cullens were wonderful even so. Esme and her sweet disposition, Carlisle's theories, Emmett's bear hugs, Jasper's witty teasing, Alice's input on my clothes, and even Rosalie's snickers. But most of all, I missed my best friend. Bella could go along without Jacob if she had to, as long as she had Edward, who was-as the books had said- like a drug, addictive and impossible to give up. Even now that I had Embry, I couldn't just give up Edward, or vice versa. There were no drugs, just the sunlight & air in Embry's case and cool water in Edward's. They were both things that I needed, but in a _healthy_ way.

The C.D ended abruptly and I sat up with a jolt, startled by the silence. With a sigh, I got up and went to the kitchen, hunting up a bag of microwave popcorn and putting it in. I still didn't know why I was in here, why I had fallen into this story. As time went on, the books were re-writing themselves, even my own handwriting changing in the notebooks. I didn't like the way the story described me, as it was from Bella's point of view. To her, I was mysterious and out-of place. In her words, my personality was like my hair, dark and hiding my face. This upset me sometimes. I had always considered myself to be a good person, and people generally liked me, but in Bella's case, I knew she was wary of me; I was still an unknown, a mystery, like I was hiding something more than what I had told everyone already. She also trusted me, and that made her even more wary. She wasn't used to trusting so easily. She felt safe around me, though she felt she shouldn't. Ironically, she thought I was more vampiric than the others. Bella's perspective left out a lot of _everyone _except Edward. She didn't see how Jacob wasn't always happy, how strong the pack bond was already, though it was still growing, how the Cullens were all perfectionists. Her point of view only told a small portion of the story, her world was so small because she cut herself off from so many things. She only wanted to know Edward's world, not the packs', not Jessica's, or Mike's. I wondered what it would be like if told from Embry's perspective, or Alice's.

The popcorn had long since stopped, so I shook myself out of my thoughts and took the bag back into the front room, switching the C.D on repeat and flopping down again. I picked up a book I had to read for class and set my mind to it, determined to finish.

The next night, I hung around at Emily's like usual. I knew Jacob would phase back quickly, his transformation undergoing twenty four hours rather than a whole week like the others. After a couple hours, I decided to go for a walk. Jacob would find me eventually if he wanted to. If he didn't, I'd hear it from Embry. I walked along the edge of the forest to the beach, taking my time. I broke off pine needles and peeled birch bark off of the trees, playing absentmindedly as my thoughts went from wild impatience to a calmer and more manageable state. I hadn't quite made it to the beach yet when Jacob caught up with me. I did hear the gravel of the road, or the softer pine needles crunch with his approach. I felt a hand on my shoulder and before I could react, he spun me around to face him, rather roughly.

After my surprise, I studied his face. He looked exhausted and scared. His long beautiful hair was gone and he looked different without it. The sixteen year old Jacob was essentially gone, replaced by this older, harder Jacob. I knew that the old Jacob was locked inside the new one, but the newfound bitterness and fear wasn't letting him out.

"Everything is different now." He said.

"Yeah it is." I agreed easily.

"I'm a werewolf and you…I don't even know what you are."

"Me either. I'm just me." I caught his hand and pulled him along to walk beside me back to Emily's instead of the beach.

"The Cullens did this." He snarled.

"Technically, Victoria did this. But yes the Cullens being here didn't help." I corrected him. It was easy to be agreeable. I knew that it would be dangerous to antagonize him. "For vampires, they are the best that there are. They are kind and unselfish for the most part and they do not attack humans. You know that from the treaty though of course."

"Still, they stayed here, knowing that their presence could cause this." He gestured to himself; his newfound muscles and the hair that was no longer there. There was a look of desperation in his eyes. "Why would they do that?"

"I don't know Jake." I said quietly. "I suppose they thought because they weren't a threat, they could stay longer. Then James, Victoria and Laurent attacked and everything spun out of control." He muttered under his breath and stalked off a short ways away before turning back.

"I don't know everything." I said. "The things I do know can help a lot and I am trying my best to do just that. I know that the Cullens are good and that they took me in when they thought I might be dangerous to them. I know that Bella is broken without them and I need to make things right so they she can feel whole again. I know that you and Quil and Embry are the best friends I could ever ask for and I don't want to lose you because of the Cullens. I know that I consider myself a wolf girl now because I feel like I belong here with all of you." I twisted my hands together as I spoke and looked beseechingly at him. "I understand if you hate me for being a part of the Cullens's family. Still, I hope you won't."

His hands went up to twist through his longer hair and paused when there was nothing there. He ran his fingers up over the hair on the top of his head instead.

"I don't hate you. I will just never completely forgive the Cullens for what they've done to us here."

"I understand that." I bobbed my head and with a smile, ran to him for a hug, which he returned. We continued walking again, the silence more companionable than before.

"So, you and Embry huh?" he broke in.

I laughed loudly, relieved that the intensity had dissipated with this last question. "Yeah, me and Embry!" I shoved him lightly. "It was weird at first." I admitted. "But it just feels natural now."

We reached Emily's place after about ten minutes of walking and talking about life with the pack and I led him inside.

"Hungry?" I asked. He nodded fervently, his stomach rumbling loudly. "Then welcome to Paradise."


	19. Just Maybe

"I still can't believe you knew this the entire time we've known each other." Jacob exclaimed, popping a piece of candy in his mouth and shaking his head in mock disappointment.

Unlike the rest of the pack, who'd stayed trapped in wolf form for days, even weeks, Jacob had been human again after 24 hours, amazing everyone. Now, Jacob, Embry and I were congregated in my apartment, eating candy and trying to take Jacob's mind off of Bella. I wasn't feeling so great, but I figured it would pass, thinking it was just because of the candy.

"Well I knew it _way_ before you did…before Embry…before the Cullens…actually you know what? Here it's 2006, but in my world it was 2011, so technically you did know before I did, timeline-wise."

"2011? So you're not twenty at all, you're sixteen, like the rest of us!" Embry broke in triumphantly. I had told Embry my real age, and since he was physically 25 years old, he had been completely comfortable with it but enjoyed teasing. I didn't look or act my age in any case, so it didn't matter.

"It really doesn't matter to me. And actually, if we're being technical, I'm way younger. I'm zero years old here because I don't exist!" My stomach was gurgling quietly, so I looked down at it, frowning. I was really starting to feel funny now. Then with a sinking feeling, a new thought occurred to me and I set an unwrapped piece of candy aside.

"J-Jacob? Was…was that stomach flu going around when you went to the movies with Bella and Mike last week?"

"Yeah," He snorted. "Marshmallow Mike had to leave before the movie even ended."

"Oh God." I gasped, sprinting for the bathroom and slamming the door behind me, leaning over the toilet bowl, violently sick.

"Katherine, are you okay?" Embry's voce came through the door.

"Go away, I'm sick." I moaned.

I didn't pay too much attention to the noises outside of the room until I heard the door slam. I sighed, relieved. Good, they were gone. I hauled myself up again and threw up.

"Katherine, I got some water and Gravol for you and I think you should take it." A voice sounded from behind the closed door.

Embry was still here?

"Don't come in. I told you to go away." I lay down on the floor, my cheek resting on the bath mat.

"Yeah, like I'd leave when you're sick."

"It's embarrassing."

"Can I come in or not?"

"No. Go home; you don't want to catch this."

I drifted off, not thinking clearly as seemed to happen only when you're sick. I was sweaty and uncomfortable, but I curled up in the fetal position on the floor and fell fitfully into sleep.

When I woke up, I didn't remember where I was until I stood up and looked in the mirror. I looked horrible. My hair was stuck to my sweaty forehead, the pattern of the bathmat was printed on my cheek, and my eyes were dull.

But I didn't feel sick anymore, which was a definite plus.

I pulled open the door and jumped back as something fell into the room.

"Embry? You're still here?" I croaked.

He must've been sitting on the floor outside, leaning against the door. He rubbed his head as he got up and yawned.

"Where did you think I'd be?"

Standing there in the bathroom, feeling disgustingly dirty and weak, I realized I _loved_ Embry Call. The petty crushes of my world seemed childish compared to this. The only thing that came close was the feeling of safety and family love that I had for the Cullens, and the love I still had for my real family, locked away deep in my heart.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" he asked warily.

"I love you." I said, the words sweet on my tongue. It wasn't the first time I'd said it to anyone, but it was the first time I knew that I meant it, and that made all the difference.

Embry's whole face changed, like a light was shining from inside him, like he was looking at someone beautiful, instead of just me in my old jeans, like…_like he was looking into the sun for the first time._

Oh God, my life was turning into the book, bringing meanings to words I had never really understood before.

He cupped my face in his too-big hands, like I was something precious and breakable.

"I love you too."

"Oh come on guys, break it up." Jacob strode past us to the kitchen, making faces. He had pillow lines on his face, he must have slept for a while on the couch while he and Embry waited for me to feel better.

We stood there, laughing at Jacob and smiling at each other foolishly for a while before I reluctantly pulled away to brush my teeth and wash my face.

"We gotta take off." Jacob re-emerged from the kitchen and tossed a bottle of water at Embry, who caught it easily. "We have patrols tonight. Sam'll be waiting."

Then left quickly but noisily as always and when I shit the door behind them, the apartment seemed much emptier.

Back in the bathroom, I pulled my hair back away from my face with an elastic. I still didn't look _good_, but at least I looked _better_. I felt better too. Maybe, just maybe it had something to do with the amazingly kind and beautiful man who followed me into the kitchen as I hunted up some crackers. And _maybe_ it had to do with the fact that he loved me, as I loved him.

Just maybe.


	20. Much Better

Now that I was in with the pack, time flew by as I was able to get to know the pack members as friends. I had always wanted to know more about them. Bella had always focused on the Cullens even when they had left and only small descriptions of the pack members were formed in her mind. I was eager to prove that I wanted only to help them if I could and so I made a conscious effort to talk to all of them.

Paul had a wicked temper that I knew he fought extremely hard to control at all times. However, he was still a new wolf and he slipped up often. Though he tried to shrug his mistakes off with a smile, he felt terrible about it when he was with people other than his pack mates. With the pack he knew he was forgiven easily and they honestly didn't see his nearly uncontrollable phasing as a bad thing. With Bella, Emily and even me he felt horrible knowing that there was the possibility of him scaring or hurting us by accident, something he would never mean to do.

Jared was the listener so maybe it made sense that he had the best hearing out of the entire pack. He could joke and tease with the best of them but if you had a problem he would try to worm it out of you so that he could help. I think that Jared and I were the most alike in that way and we got along so easily that after knowing each for only a few days we were already good friends. In contrast, his girlfriend Kim was one of the shyest people I had ever met, but Jared's personality helped her to come out of her shell. He was good for her.

Jacob was Jacob with minor differences. His long hair was gone and it took him a long time to get used to the change. He was angry at the world for making him like this and at Sam for not allowing him to talk to Bella about it. He understood the danger she could possibly be in after seeing Paul phase so often from anger but he still lamented the loss of her in his life. He enjoyed having Embry back though and he often joined us to hang out when he had free time. We missed Quil very much and as I was the only one of us who was allowed to speak with him, I did so often.

Sam was the calm and stoic man that Bella had described in the original Twilight novels, but I saw the humour and the intelligence in him as well. He led his pack without training or even much advice and yet it seemed to work. I felt safe with him as the head of our little group. I was confident that with him on the hunt, Victoria would never break through the ranks. His love for Emily was the purest I had ever seen and her love for him was just as strong.

Emily and I had fun together and we took the practical aspects of the pack as our responsibility. The boys tried to help us but with their patrol schedules it was hard for them to do more than eat and sleep in their free time. I'd take cooking and shopping for new clothes for them over running around all day after Victoria any day.

Baking was another matter. Emily loved to keep her cookie and muffin tins well stocked but it had never been my strong suit and once Emily saw that anything I baked seemed to both burn and stay raw, she didn't make me help her. I was often delegated to the cooking which I enjoyed. Emily couldn't keep her place as spotless as she liked by herself because of the overgrown boys who were constantly tramping in and out every day so I was glad to help with that sometimes too. One morning full of muffin-making, I was perched on one of the kitchen counters, chatting with Emily as she transferred muffins from a tin to a plate when the door opened.

I heard Embry and Jared bickering over a bet that they had arranged between them and I whipped my head around to face them when my smile died from my face. Bella was standing there in the doorway staring at me.

"So you're the vampire girl?" Emily said harshly, noticing the look that had passed between Bella and I. Sam wasn't the only protective one.

"So you're the wolf girl?" Bella asked back. Emily reluctantly had to laugh at this and waved Bella into the room. She strode to me immediately, teeth clenched, hands balled up at her sides.

"You knew?" she demanded.

"Yes, of course I knew, Bella."

"Why didn't you tell me?" her face was red, her eyes animated. She hadn't looked this alive since the Cullens had left. "You're not bound like Jacob was."

"No, I'm not, I'm willingly keeping this secret. I'm bound not by force, but by my friendships to Embry and Jacob and everyone else in the pack. I knew you'd learn eventually, it's best for me not to interfere when I'm not needed." I tried to explain to her.

"I _needed_ to know this." She said.

I had had enough. "No, Bella." I hopped off the counter. "You didn't, not until now." I squeezed past her and went to Embry, who flung an arm around my shoulders and kissed my hair. I drummed my hands against the wall behind me and I tried to control my annoyance. I was not in this story to make things easier for Bella, no matter how much she seemed to think so. Bella followed me over to Embry and appealed to him.

"Embry, I'm Jacob's friend too. Don't you think-?"

"No." He said softly. "Quil doesn't know, even though he'll probably be one of us in the future. Just because you're friends with Jake doesn't mean you have to be in the know." His arm squeezed me closer to his side reassuringly.

"But-"

"You know now Bella. It's done. It doesn't matter anymore." I said, hoping my voice had a note of finality. She shook her head in annoyance and strode across to the other end of the room with Emily, leaning against a counter. Emily quietly offered her a muffin and she took it.

A commotion at the door drew our attention and Paul and Jacob tumbled into the room, joking and laughing as always. Sam came through last and went to Emily, kissing her lovingly.

Embry pointed out a fading pink line of Paul's arm to Jared and pumped his fist in the air. "Fifteen dollars!" he yelled jubilantly.

"Woo!" I cheered, a smile breaking over my face. Jared jabbed me lightly in the side, scowling and Embry jabbed him back. A war would have emerged if Sam hadn't called us all to attention in order to explain how Bella came to know of the pack.

I moved away to help Emily make breakfast, taking the huge bowl of eggs and the whisk out of her hands with a smile. I quickly beat the eggs and milk together and poured everything into a large skillet as I listened absentmindedly to Sam's explanation. Emily started frying up several packs of bacon and she popped in some toast.

The eggs were done at the same time Sam was and I scooped them onto a platter to set in the middle of the table. Jared was setting out cutlery and soon we all sat around the table, passing around the food, bickering and laughing amongst ourselves. Bella remained the only quiet member at the table, shoved into a corner, not touching her food. Her eyes burned into me and even though I shouldn't, I felt guilty for not telling her sooner. I was constantly second guessing myself and in cases where I didn't think I was needed, other people disagreed. I had to let it roll off my back especially when no harm was done. I believed that letting things naturally progress in this story was still the best way to go and I was determined to stick to that as much as I could.

This was the only reason I hadn't gone to tell Quil about everything. I still went to visit him on a regular basis and we talked about everything except for the pack. It hurt too much for both of us. When I returned to Embry and Jacob, I knew they wanted to know how he was, but they both avoided talking about him. It made it harder from them to keep their secret. Quil didn't know any of this, he thought Sam had brainwashed his friends and he was terrified of being next.

As the pack continued its search for Victoria, who'd been trying to get to Bella, Embry was on duty double time. I knew Jacob had it worse, guarding Bella's house out of sheer stubbornness and fear for her life. She was the most important thing in his world. If Embry thought that I was also a target, he would never leave my side. I still didn't believe that I would be a passing thought in Victoria's head. Victoria wasn't coming into Forks, she'd never think to touch a hair on my head. Even the attempts Victoria had made to get into Forks came nowhere near me. My scent was untraceable so she most likely thought I had left with the Cullens.

Unfortunately, Bella reminded everyone that I had been with her in the ballet studio, and to Victoria, while Bella was the real prize, she might want me dead as well. And once Bella let it slip to Jacob, the entire pack was on alert.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Embry stormed into my apartment, banging the door off of the wall loudly. I jumped up from where I'd been sitting on the floor, writing in my notebook and took in his angry face and only piece of clothing, an old pair of jeans. He must've phased and ran over as soon as he heard the news. Embry was usually one of the more civilized members of the pack, wearing a shirt most of the time. I started to shake slightly as I faced him. I absolutely hated when anyone was angry with me.

"It's no big deal-" I tried to smooth it over and explain.

"No big deal? Katherine there's a sadistic vampire after you!" He was shaking violently and I backed away carefully.

"She won't get into Forks. Plus I'm not her primary target."

"I don't care if you're her five hundredth target. Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to run around my apartment like Jacob does with Bella. There's no point. Victoria is after Bella because Edward killed her mate. Bella is Edward's mate. It's revenge! She doesn't see Bella and I as threats, she wants the hurt the person who killed James."

"Killing Edward's sister in addition to his mate won't do that?"

"She's not getting into Forks! It doesn't happen in the book!"

"I didn't imprint in the book either, but you changed that. What makes you think you won't change this as well?"

"Just…because! Embry, come on, I don't need protection. Please just calm down okay?" He paced around the small room. His shaking had already lessened and with a few calming breaths it was almost gone.

When he was sure he was under control, he crossed the room and took my face in his hands. "I can't lose you. I'm going to do everything to keep you alive."

"You won't lose me, I promise. Please Embry, I don't want you to run around all night _and_ do patrols. You need your sleep."

"No, I need to keep you. I don't care if I have to camp out on your couch."

I blinked and smiled at him. "Why don't you?" I asked.

An hour later, he'd been to La Push and back, with a bag of clothes and a pillow.

Because his arms were full, I went to the door to let him in and found a neighbor that I had chatted with a few times coming out of her apartment.

"Hey." I said cheerfully.

She turned and caught sight of Embry, her jaw dropping and her eyes growing wide.

I tried very hard not to laugh at Embry's confused expression.

"This is my boyfriend Embry."

"This…is Embry?" she asked, shocked, her eyes taking in every inch of his 6 foot body, complete with defined stomach muscles, clearly visible, since he still hadn't remembered to find a shirt, beautiful copper skin, dark eyes and glossy black hair. Most of the time I tried hard to not brag or show him off but this one time couldn't hurt. I knew exactly what was going through her mind and looked up at Embry proudly, and a little bit smugly. He was gorgeous, and he was mine.

"You are one lucky girl Katherine." She waved and continued down the hall, shaking her head.

"Why was she looking at me like that?" Embry asked when I closed the door.

I laughed and led him to the living room. "Because you're six feet, muscular, and you don't have a shirt on!"

"You don't look all weird like that when I don't have a shirt on."

"I love you for more than the way you look." I laughed and trailed a hand over his shoulders, biting my lip. "Plus, I'm just better at hiding it." I said in a low voice. His breath caught in his throat and he blinked quickly. I laughed and gave him a hug. I grabbed his stuff and took it into the bedroom, tossing his pillow on the bed.

"I thought I was sleeping on the couch." He protested.

"I figured this would be easier." I shrugged. "Unless you'd rather sleep on the couch."

"No, no this is good." He said quickly. He wrapped his arms around me from behind. "It'll be nice."

"You can keep me warm. I might not need to use every blanket I own for once." I laughed.

Once the bed was made up, we crawled in and put our arms around each other. It was warm and I felt safe.

"This is much better than patrolling outside." Embry mumbled. He was so tired, I could tell sleep wasn't that far off. I brushed the hair off of his forehead lightly.

"Much better." I agreed.


End file.
